Red Riding Hood was a Fruit

Honestly, Red Riding Hood was Rotten! The Story of Little Red Riding Hood as Told by the Wolf

Written by: Tricia Speed Shaskan

Illustrated by: Gerald Guerlais

Released: August 1, 2011 by Coughlan Publishing

Summary: OF COURSE you think I did a horrible thing by eating Little Red Riding Hood and her granny. You don't know the other side of the story. Well, let me tell you...

This was a cute little book that drew my attention on netGalley with its title. I’ve always loved when authors take the classic fairy tales and put a spin on it like this one for short stories. I have an aunt who had a book of them and I used to love it when she read them to me.

The way that Shaskan made the wolf a vegetarian (with a craving for apples) was an adorable little twist on the classic story. Same with how Granny and Red were made to resemble apples; in fact, it was rather genius.

This is going to be a fantastic picture book for young readers. Sure it has larger words spattered throughout, but the pictures are colourful and for the most part there are fewer words per page than picture. I can definitely see my 6 year old cousin reading this out-loud like he does with his Franklin books.

I’m giving this book a 5.5/10. While it will be one I’ll keep my eye out for in order to recommend it to young readers, it’s probably not one that I’ll read again.