Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion

In this gleeful version of Little Red Riding Hood, set in Africa, "Little Red" is savanna-savvy, the grandmother is replaced by hip Auntie Rosie, and the traditional big bad wolf is a very hungry lion.

Auntie Rosie asks Little Red if she will bring her some "spot medicine" from the general store. Little Red and her goofy little goat happily oblige, though "It was a long way to Auntie Rosie's house./ Little Red walked under the giraffes,/ over the sleepy crocodiles,/ and past the chattering monkeys." When Little Red pauses to rest under a shade tree, the Very Hungry Lion appears on the scene and cooks up his "very naughty plan." Lion rushes off to dress up as Auntie Rosie, but he doesn't fool Little Red for a minute. Much to Lion's dismay, she goes off script: " 'Oh, Auntie!' cried Little Red. 'What tangled hair you have!' " She braids Lion's mane and decorates it with bows. She makes him brush his "gigantic, grimy teeth" and sport a pretty dress. When Lion finally yells "STOP!" Little Red tells the frustrated beast that all he had to do is ask, if he was hungry. He apologizes and they all share some doughnuts... but that doesn't mean he won't try to eat Little Red's father later.

English author-illustrator Alex T. Smith's (the Claude series) washes his over-the-top, kinetic spreads in warm, sunset hues. Preschoolers will giggle at the animals with coffee cups or sunglasses cavorting on the savannah, but the very hungry lion with his Groucho Marx eyebrows and ferocious appetite steals the show. --Karin Snelson, children's & YA editor, Shelf Awareness

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