Jerry Pinkney’s straightforward retelling of “Little Red Riding Hood” is distinguished by illustrations in which the title character is a young black girl. Pinkney’s lovely watercolor images of nature create a stunning stage for the familiar tale, with Red Riding Hood’s crimson cape a striking visual focal point as she travels through a subdued brown and white forest snowscape to her grandmother’s cabin. The wolf is deliciously realistic, his slinky body suggestive of muscle and danger; a sensibility at once heightened and made absurd once he dons Grandmother’s cap and glasses. Pinkney’s choice to make Grandmother light-skinned reflects the diversity that is embodied in so many families in this welcome recasting of a traditional tale. (Ages 3–7)

In this inspired rendering of the classic Grimm Brothers folktale, five-time Caldecott Honor winning artist Jerry Pinkney introduced two favorite children's characters to a new generation: the sly, scary wolf and the sweet little girl in her famous red hood. Readers will squeal with delight all over again during that most memorable scene when Little Red Riding Hood declares, "Oh, Grandmamma, what great teeth you have!"

Pinkney's charming, masterfully-wrought illustrations--as warm and cozy as LIttle Red's cloak and as captivating ast he clever wold himself--are sure to lure you into the heart of this treasured tale.