#365PictureBooks 14. Very Little Red Riding Hood by Heapy & Heap

Heapy, T., & Heap, S. (2013). Very Little Red Riding Hood: A very BIG adventure for a Very little Girl. Oxford, UK: David Flicking Books.

ISBN: 9781849921459
Pages: 32
Age Level: Early Childhood 0-6
Genre: Picture Storybook / Alternative Fairy Tale 
Rating: 3 stars

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Very Little Red Riding Hood is brave, bold and BOSSY!  She is off to visit her Grandma for a sleepover, and she's not going to let anyone or anything stop her.  Not even a wolf! 

Heapy has done well in her cute retelling of the classic Little Red Riding Hood, which is lots of fun and has none of the gory bits from the classic.  It is very easy to relate it to the original, with the the twist being that Very Little Red Riding Hood invites the wolf to Grandma's for a 'cuppatea' and a play.  By the end of it I felt really sorry for the poor wolf.  Mind you when I become a Grandma I certainly want my own wolf to help babysit the grandies ... especially if they are as active as Very Little Red Riding Hood!

This is a very child-like retelling, and the language used is definitely aimed at pre-school children.  Heapy uses language in a way that many young children use, for example ..."I come see you, Gramma", and "Not lello flowers. Red!".  She uses a lot of short sentences, and there is one page that reminds me of our younger students story writing ... every sentence starts with 'Then'!  There is quite a lot of play on the original tale and I like how Heaphy has twisted scenarios around to tie in nicely with this modernised retelling. 

Heap's illustrations are very simple and in keeping with the story.  They look like they are done in pencil and watercolour, and some of them have a very unfinished look to them.  They are bright and colourful.  Very Little Red's jacket has ears on it which is very cute, and the wolf, aka 'Foxie', has a big hairy coat and stands out from the other characters in the way he is illustrated. 

With the inclusion of the fold-out map at the beginning I can see quite a few more books from Heapy & Heap with all the Very Little fairytale characters. 

A gorgeous story to be read at bedtime or as a read-aloud.  It will delight children and adults alike in the way Very Little Red Riding Hood bosses 'Foxie' and her poor Grandma around. 

I got my copy of Very Little Red Riding Hood from the Taradale Primary School library where I work. 

You can find a copy at Napier Libraries.