Home > Categories > Books > Kids - General > Little Red Riding Hood: Not Quite review
Take one traditional fairy tale and one infuriatingly cheeky (albeit knowledgeable) child, and mix with the talented writing of Yvonne Morrison and the funny and creative illustrations of Donovan Bixley...and you have a recipe for fall-off-your-chair hilarity!
Product reviews...
Ever since I saw this book on the KIWIreviews site I have been dying to read it. I found the 'Three Bears - Sort Of' - hilarious and I knew from how good the reviews have been this would be just as good. I was so excited when I got it. My original plan was to wait until my husband was home to read the interuption parts as I found with the Three Bears one it was a little hard for my youngest to understand what was happening but I was too impatient and instead got my six year old to read that part.
We sat on the couch and both said oh this is like the Three Bears. While reading my three year old was pointing to all the pictures. The map kinda flawed her and she enjoyed showing us where the wolf and Little Red where going. Although she was a little confused to what house they where going to but in the end she pretty much got the gest of it.
The story is fantastic. It asks so many questions and honestly I have not even considered most of them. My husband arrived home as we where finishing and he was laughing away. Some of the words where a little complicated for Miss six but in a whole she did great. I loved the story and I was laughing away although both girls would look at me like I was crazy.
The pictures are fantastic and fun and make the story complete it is just perfect. I am glad everything works out in the end and to be honest it is not the version I would of told but it works out perfectly for everyone and especially for the wolf which makes me happy. I have never even considered why the wolf just didn't eat Little Red in the first place I always just took the story as it was told. Love how kids minds can work.
Both girls have now read both books a trillion times and now my three year old puts her own spin on it and reads to whoever will listen including all of her animal friends. Definitely a crowd pleaser.
We were lucky enough to receive this book and my daughter is always so excited by new books that I read it to her the first night I had it. I'd heard good things about the Three Bears Book by the same author and was excited to read this one.
I really enjoyed how the story flowed and how the child in the story kept interrupting and asking very sensible questions that I'm sure many of us have thought at one time or another but I peeked down at my 4 year old daughter and her eyes were glazing over and she looked confused. She said she didn't really "get it" (the story) but she did like looking at all the pictures. I think she's a bit too young to understand what was going on and that there were actually two different conversations in the book, one being the Little Red Riding Hood story and the other being the reader and child talking about the story.
I found the story and interruptions very informative. There are some good facts for young kids in it like the fact that wolves usually hunt in packs and they have yellow eyes which are the same size as human eyes, apparently (good facts for adults too).
My favourite bit about the whole book would have to be when the child asks why they call her red riding hood and the reader says "because she's little and she wears a red riding hood" and the child says "Like if you called me small polka dot pyjamas" and then the story carries on but at the very end the reader says goodnight to "Small Polka Dot Pyjamas" it's such a sweet ending and parents could have some great fun with this idea.
I think this story would be really good to read to school aged children who are busy asking questions about everything and might help them think about more things that need questioning in other stories. It could be a very good book to have in schools to engage students to think about things they are reading.
I was lucky enough to win this book in a recent promotions through KIWIreviews and Scholastic. I was so stoked at this win as it was one of the books I was really looking forward to reading. I have seen little snippets of the working of illustrations on Facebook and the previous book about the Three Bears was such a funny book too. This is the kinda book you just know is going to be fun for you and the kids.
I sat down to read this with my toddler this evening. She was thrilled to have a new book to look at. Immediately, she was pointing to the wolf on the cover "Dog - Woof" she told me. I told her it was a wolf and she peered closer to it, and repeated "Wolf". All through the book we had those moments, or her pointing things out and asking questions and it was lovely to share that with her. Plus her general excitement at each page. The pictures for her were the drawcard. Oh her excitement at the "ears!" was so loud that it drew her sister in from two rooms away.
The toddler then sat and read the book to me. She turned the pages and pointed to things and said the words that she felt best described the scene, including the ears. I love that this book really grabbed her, in a way that allowed her to practice these early literacy things. Later I took my eldest through this book. She remembered the Three Bears book as well, so she insisted on having both books back-to-back. She asks the same kinda questions that the kid in the book asks, so that was fun. She was saying "yeah, how come?" at just about every observation. I loved the nod to Health and Safety too. That's a big deal at work which made it so relatable for me as well.
This book is so funny. I have read it twice and I know I'll be reading it more and more in the coming weeks. I also know, it will still be funny. As a parent, I understand children don't sit and take a story in passively. So it's so tongue in cheek to have a book do all the questioning for you. I was also amazed at all the things that I use to just take for granted as a kid. The stuff you just didn't question, but my kid does. Thanks again, so much for this awesome book.
We recently got this book for my 6.5 year old and my husband got in first, reading it to her one night during her story time. I asked her later what she thought of the book and she said she didn't really like it (don't stop reading this review here please as this changes very quickly!)....
I asked her if I could read it to her and I could tell she was hooked and enjoying it, and I loved the story too. It contained all the questions I've always wanted to ask about the classic story to be honest... I mean really, why do they call her by the name of the clothes she wears?!?
As soon as the story was finished, my daughter (who obviously enjoyed the story way more than she was letting on) asked if she could write a book with questions in it too. We spent the next 45 minutes or so with our heads down together, writing a book (me writing and her transcribing). She chose a different classic story (The Princess and the Pea as it turned out) and came up with various questions and answers throughout the story. This was fantastic mum and daughter time, and I could see the creative thinking that the Red Riding Hood book had sparked in her. This is the first book that I have seen trigger the idea of her writing her own book, so how could I not give it 10 thumbs up just for that.
We have re-read this story over several nights now, and she's now reading the question parts of the story to me, so it's been a great way to keep her reading practice up, in a way that keeps her keen and interested. I see it being most suitable from about age 4, but right up to 7 or 8 or more due to the creative and challenging thinking process and the way it delves into a classic story and comes up with new answers and ideas. It is better if you know the original story first though.
We've both read the previous book in this series about the 3 bears and I personally like this book way more. And I'm not sure why miss 6.5 tried to tell me she didn't like it, as it only took a second reading of it to completely turn this around, but perhaps it just seemed a little strange and different from her usual books. I would definitely recommend this book to others - even for a gift for an adult who likes to argue and challenge things!
When I showed my daughters Little Red Riding Hood: Not Quite Miss 6.5 recognised it was just like The Three Bears:Sort of that she had recently had in her class library. Although I had never read The Three Bears I had heard great things about it both on KIWIreviews and from friends. After reading Little Red Riding Hood with the same author and illustrator I know I am going to have to get The Three Bears now too. It also doesn't help that there is a picture of The Three Bears inside the back cover and every time we read it Miss 5 tells me "We have to get this Three Bears book."
I flicked through this book by myself first and chuckled. It was like my kids were sitting there with me interrupting the story with questions and finding flaws in the plot. When I read it with them they thought the interruptions were great. In the 10 days we have had the book I have read it every night to them. It can take a while to read when the girls add in their own questions.
Because the book is broken up into the original story and the "interruptions" the girls have enjoyed the challenge of reading the short segments. This has done so much to increase their reading ability and confidence. They both wanted to read it and there were a few arguments when their sister read their part. Any book that gets my reluctant readers wanting to read gets top marks from me.
We all loved this book for both the twist of a traditional story and the great illustrations. I have read it so many times that I could read it with my eyes closed but that hasn't stopped me from enjoying it. In the story the child is referred to by the clothes he is wearing so now I with often do the same for my girls. They love this and often chose what to wear in the morning based on what they want to be called. It is a fun way to greet the girls in the morning and to say as I kiss them good night.
Miss 6.5 wants to take this book to show her class. It is a safe bet they will love it too.
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