It's Not Little Red Riding Hood

by Josh Funk, Edwardian Taylor (Illustrator)

Overview

Little Red likes to play by the rules. So when the narrator comes along and asks her to follow the story set out in her fairy tale, she grabs the basket for Grandma and goes. After all, she loves her grandma. But unfortunately, none of the other characters are quite what they’re expecting.…

As Little Red attempts to follow the narrator’s directions (which, frankly, seem kind of dangerous!), she is beset by fill-in characters, confusing instructions, and even a fierce battle! Will Little Red ever make it to Grandma’s house? And who will she find when she gets there? Complete with some unusual “guest appearances,” this laugh-out-loud Little Red Riding Hood retelling will have kids giggling all the way to Grandma’s house! Ding-dong!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781542006668
Publisher:	Two Lions
Publication date:	10/27/2020
Series:	It's Not a Fairy Tale Series , #3
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	471,160
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	540L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Like the characters in his books, Josh Funk doesn’t like being told how stories should go—so he writes his own. He is the author of a bunch of picture books, including the popular Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast series, illustrated by Brendan Kearney; How to Code a Sandcastle, illustrated by Sara Palacios; and Lost in the Library: A Story of Patience & Fortitude, illustrated by Stevie Lewis. He lives in New England with his wife and children. Learn more about him at www.joshfunkbooks.com and follow him on Twitter @joshfunkbooks.

Edwardian Taylor has worked as a visual development artist and character designer in the game and animation industry. He illustrated the picture book Race!, written by Sue Fliess, and the chapter books Toy Academy: Some Assembly Required and Toy Academy: Ready for Action, written by Brian Lynch. He lives in Texas with his partner and their four dogs. Learn more about him at www.edwardiantaylor.com and follow him on Tumblr, Instagram, and Twitter @edwardiantaylor.

Editorial Reviews

Many will find this rewrite more thought-provoking than funny, and that’s not all bad either…Use this wild ride to shake things up with common sense and creativity.” —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2020-07-28
The characters don’t cooperate with the narrator in this metafictive spoof on the classic fairy tale.

When the narrator introduces Little Red Riding Hood, she overhears from her home and calls out, “Hey! Someone’s talking about us!” She comments on all of the narration, in fact, and the narrator responds to her in turn while trying, in vain, to maintain control over the story. Red, though savvy, is willing to play along and act out the story. But, to the narrator’s dismay, the Big Bad Wolf is sick and has sent a pirate in its place, and the heroic woodsman couldn’t make it, so Pinocchio shows up instead. The notion of eating Grandma doesn’t sit well with the pirate, so the narrator can only relent as the characters make up their own happy ending. Colorful, dramatic, cartoony illustrations picture Red and her family with brown skin and puffy black hair; Red’s sister, Blue, uses a wheelchair (disappointingly, it’s not depicted as a self-propelled one); the pirate presents White and has a hook prosthesis. The many voices are differentiated by different typefaces, colors, and speech bubbles, giving the feel of a comic or play. Adults may have a difficult time performing them all as a read-aloud, but a child willing to alternate reading with an adult will enjoy the drama, and the jokes will be more fun that way too. Still, many will find this rewrite more thought-provoking than funny, and that’s not all bad either.

Use this wild ride to shake things up with common sense and creativity. (Picture book. 4-9)

Kirkus Reviews