Pretty Salma: A Little Red Riding Hood Story from Africa (review)

In this retelling of "Little Red Riding Hood" set in Ghana, young Salma takes a shortcut home from the market through the "wild side of town." Here she meets Mr. Dog, who tricks her into handing over not only her purchases but also items of dress, and then sends her off ("Now run away, little girl, before I bite you in two!"). Salma dashes to her grandfather, who is telling stories to a group of children in the town center; in the meantime, the dog, disguised as Salma, goes to visit Granny. Grandfather and Salma, dressed in dramatic costumes gleaned from Grandfather's storytelling, arrive just in time; thinking he is witnessing Ka Ka Motobi the Bogeyman, the dog runs off in fear, and Granny is freed from the cookpot in which she was trapped. Daly's retelling offers a pleasing blend of familiar and original elements (there is no note, so other sources and influences are unknown); he is particularly adept at creating the Ghanaian setting, from the bustling market to the seedy wild side of the town. The story sparkles with kid-friendly humor, from the lanky male dog's disguising himself as a little girl to the hilarious series of interactions between Granny and the fake Salma (Mr. Dog greets her with a big sloppy kiss, chases after a rooster at the suggestion of eating, and happily allows Granny to give him a shampooing and rubdown). The illustrations recall storyboards, with several scenes following one after another on each spread; composed of watercolor and digital media, they possess a somewhat muted vibrancy, with the brightness softened by pencil shadings and plentiful pale earthtones. This is an LRRH version that beams with sassy good fun, and it would make a terrific partner to James Marshall's Red Riding Hood (BCCB 9/87).