Very Little Red Riding Hood by Teresa Heapy (review)

The big, bad wolf doesn’t know what he’s in for when he meets Very Little Red Riding hood in this enchanting, giggle-inducing take on the traditional fairy tale. The extra diminutive Red is off to visit Grandmama when she spies the wolf watching her from the trees; she gleefully cries, “a Foxie!”, promptly hugs him, and enlists his help gathering a bouquet (“Not lello flowers! RED!”) before instructing him to chase her to her grandmother’s, where all three exhaust themselves with play. Heap’s crimson-heavy watercolor and ink illustrations charm with sweetness and humor, capturing the good-natured Very Little Red as an apple-cheeked tyrant and the dapperly dressed wolf (with clever crosshatching making an overcoat of his fur, accented with a polka-dot scarf) as her unwittingly besotted yes-man. Clearly familiar with both the whims and uniquely persuasive vernacular of the preschool set, Heapy captures exactly the sort of afternoon very little storytime listeners long for and that caregivers will recognize, filled with hide-and-seek, dancing, and, of course, a much-needed nap—for everyone. Audiences will love seeing how a mere toddler can make even a mighty wolf feel sheepish.