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.
Gurney, P., & Webb, P. (2010). Kiwi Corkers: A Kiwi Christmas Carol. Auckland, New Zealand: Scholastic.
ISBN: 978775432555
Pages: 24
Age Level: Middle Childhood 7-12
Genre: Picture Storybook / NZ Fiction
Rating: 3 stars
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Kiwi Corkers: Great New Zealand Yarns are jazzed-up, Kiwi'ised versions of classic tales.
Gurney's retelling of Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol is told in a cleverly worded humorous rhyme, although at times it is difficult to keep the rhythm up. I would recommend reading it to yourself a couple of times before attempting to read aloud.
It is in keeping with Dickens original tale with Jerry D. Miser depicted as a complete scrooge, and being visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and future. 'Bah Humbug' has been exchanged for 'Codswallop', a saying very familiar to many kiwi parents I daresay.
Webb's illustrations, using scanned pencil line and Photoshop, add beautifully to the Gurney's retelling, and the use of bright bold artwork clearly matches the text on each page. I love that his ghost of Christmas Past is a Maori warrior, and the expressions on Jerry's face are definitely that of a grumpy old man. Each image has got many kiwi-isms to spot, from an opossum to the pohutokawa flower, the buzzy bee toy to the pavlova.
It is a great addition to your Christmas collection. Kids will enjoy the humorous rhyme and illustrations, while parents will enjoy the trip down memory lane and spotting all the kiwi'isms they remember. Even though it is a picture storybook I truly believe that older children will enjoy it more than the younger ones, hence I classified it as a Middle Childhood read.
I got my copy of Kiwi Corkers: A Kiwi Christmas Carol from the Taradale Primary School library where I work.
You can find a copy at Napier Libraries.
