Little Red Riding Hood - Paperback

The story of Little Red Riding Hood reset in rural New England of the early nineteenth century.

Into the forbidding but beautiful New England winter steps a resourceful farm girl in her scarlet cloak, bound with her basket of presents for her ailing grandmother. Told in a folksy cadence, the tale ends happily, as Little Red's father comes to the rescue (sharp-eyed children will notice a calico cat helped, too ).

Loving detail fills each illustration in this unique version. Andrea Wisnewski based her interiors, architecture, and costumes on models found at Old Sturbridge Village, the living-history museum in western Massachusetts. The images, full of period detail, are done in a medium Wisnewski has made her own: black-and-white prints made from intricate papercut designs (the results look much like woodcuts) that are then hand painted in gloriously vivid watercolor.

This is a beautiful, totally original, reimagining of the German fairytale classic and, yes, Little Red does survive the ravenous wolf--moist but intact. A wonderful version of the classic tale, perfect as a read-aloud, a picture book to share.