Red Riding Hood by James Marshall

This folk literature picture book reveals the classic story of Little Red Riding Hood. In this version, Red Riding Hood is sent into the woods by her mother to deliver custard to her sick grandmother. As she is about to leave, her mother yells “Now whatever you do…go straight to Granny’s, do not tarry, do not speak to any stranger”. On the way to her grandmother’s house, Red Riding Hood comes in contact with a wolf. This wolf was very kind to her and Red Riding Hood begins to share with him information about where she is going. Soon, the wolf gets the idea to eat both Red Riding Hood and her grandmother. The wolf tricks Red Riding Hood to stay and pick sunflowers for her grandmother. Meanwhile, the wolf sets off to her grandmothers. Once there, the wolf convinces the grandmother that he is Red Riding Hood and she allows him to come in. After eating the grandmother, he tricks Red Riding Hood into believing that he is her grandmother and eats her too! After his big meal, the wolf decides to take a nap. A hunter walking past takes notice of the unusual snoring coming from the grandmother’s house and decides to go in. The hunter kills the sleeping wolf and rescues Red Riding Hood and her grandmother. To me, this version of Little Red Riding Hood seems to have more of a country influence. This can be seen through terms such as “Granny” and phrases such as “isn’t feeling up to snuff today”. In addition, unlike the Grimm Brother’s version of the story, the illustrations in this book seem to look more like cartoons. I also believe this book would be great to use during a Reading lesson, in which students compare different versions of the same story.