Red Knit Cap Girl to the Rescue by Naoko Stoop (review)

Constructing a glider out of newspaper with an attached towline, Red Knit Cap Girl and her forest friends White Bunny, Bear, Squirrel, and Hedgehog rescue a polar bear cub stranded on an iceberg that has drifted near their shore. After asking the Moon for advice about what to do next, Red Knit Cap Girl and her pals make a sailboat from the same newspaper, and she and White Bunny escort the cub home, braving a storm at sea on the way. After witnessing the northern lights and finding Polar Bear Cub’s mother, Red Knit Cap Girl and White Bunny “flew off into the starry sky.” The use of present tense (“It is a windy day in the forest. Red Knit Cap Girl and her friends are playing together”) gives this fanciful story an immediacy and voice reminiscent of the narration that children engage in during pretend play. The color palette (warm russets, cerulean blues, soft tans, and creamy whites) and the woodgrain of the plywood backgrounds provide a warm, organic feel to the acrylic, ink, and pencil illustrationss. Minimal facial detail and simple, rounded shapes give the figures a toy-like appeal, and indeed, Red Knit Cap Girl’s adventures may inspire some fresh pretend play with stuffed animals.