Super Red Riding Hood

July 1, 2014
Ruby is an imaginative young girl who is always prepared to save the day with the addition of her red cloak.When her mom sends her on a mission to pick some raspberries for her snack (and get some much-needed time in the outdoors), she goes prepared with her flashlight and the cape that transforms her into Super Red Riding Hood (good thing, too, as a small snail needs rescuing). Before Ruby even gets to the woods, she starts singing, "Who's afraid of the deep dark woods?" Her flashlight helps her overcome her fears of those dark woods when she spotlights various noisemakers, including an owl and a woodpecker. But after she fills her lunchbox with berries, a real threat looms (literally) in the form of a slavering, yellow-toothed, huge-clawed wolf that backs Ruby against a tree. He lunges, and Super Red Riding Hood uses all her skills, leaping, darting and climbing, to avoid him. By asserting herself, Ruby forces the wolf to back down, and it turns out-surprise-that he was just hungry after all; in a wildly contrived ending, they happily share her raspberries. In the rather unpolished, animation-influenced illustrations, the friendly wolf is only slightly less scary-looking than the ferocious one-savvy kids will wonder how those carnivore teeth manage the berries.This adds nothing to the myriad "Little Red Riding Hood" adaptations already on the shelves. (Fairy tale. 5-8)

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September 1, 2014

K-Gr 2-A feisty, red-caped, would-be superhero named Ruby stars in this adaptation of the "Red Riding Hood" story. In addition to loving all things red, Ruby goes out of her way to help anyone or thing that needs her aid. Her mom suggests that the rambunctious superhero do some raspberry picking in the woods. With her snack box full of berries, who should she run into? Yep. A wolf. After a brief scramble and stand-off, Ruby discovers that the wolf is simply hungry and, like a good superhero, she shares her raspberries. Whether children are familiar with the folktale or not, they will be delighted by the strong heroine who stands up for herself. The full-color artwork, rendered in Photoshop, has a touch of 1950s retro style about it and is full of action and multiple perspectives. The longer text suggests it may be most useful for one-on-one sharing or independent reading by older children. Early elementary children will be brave enough to experience the adventure on their own and savvy enough to appreciate Ruby's courage and compassion.-Marge Loch-Wouters, La Crosse Public Library, WI

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2015
In this loose "Little Red Riding Hood" send-up, Ruby becomes the titular crusader when she dons her red cloak. Her heroism includes moving an underfoot snail to safety and using intellect and kindness to calm a menacing wolf. The idea is that heroism doesn't require superpowers--fair enough, but it's too bad the storytelling is so shapeless and the art so uninteresting.

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)