So you think you know the story of Little Red Riding Hood, the girl with the unfortunate name and the inability to tell the difference between her grandmother and a member of a different species? Well, then, try your hand at answering these questions: Which character (not including Little Red herself) is the most fashion challenged? Who (not including the wolf) is the scariest? Who (not including Granny) is the most easily scared? Who is the strangest? (Notice we’re not “not including” anyone, because they’re all a little off.) Who (no fair saying “the author”) has stuffing for brains? Vivian Vande Velde has taken eight new looks at one of the world’s most beloved (and mixed-up) stories. You may never look at fairy tales in quite the same way again.
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"These retellings of the story of Little Red Riding Hood were a riot to read. I laughed out loud at the end of each one. Vivian Vande Velde always does a great job and she did so once again. You'll get a real kick out of this one."
— Joseph (5 out of 5 stars)
" In a companion book of sorts to "The Rumpelstiltskin Problem," Van Velde returns to another fairy tale that she suggests makes no sense, and give us eight updated versions of it, each that answer a different plot problem. Most of them are just okay, but the last one, "Little Red Riding Hood's Little Red Riding Hood" makes the cloak the protagonist, and is pretty funny. "
— Lee, 2/16/2014" Variations and adaptations of Little Red Riding Hood are told in this collection. As with any short story collection, some stories were better than others. I liked how some of the stories gave a humorous wink and a nod to the traditional version and to other fairy tales. "
— Kendra, 2/10/2014" A collection of short stories all loosely based on the little red riding hood tale. I will share with teachers to help teach writing and fairy tales. It may also interest students that enjoy reading fairy tales. "
— Lorena, 1/12/2014" What I liked best about this book: the author's note and the first story "The Red Cloak." The other stories I had a so so reaction to. "
— Bridget, 1/7/2014" Based on the cover- which I absolutely love- I was expecting more serious retellings of Little Red Riding Hood. Yes, I knew going into it that this was YA, but that cover screams "disturbing retellings inside" to me. Instead, the retellings inside are flippant and shallow. Enjoyable reads, just not what I was expecting which makes me want to rate this as 2 stars, but I'm fighting hard judging a book by it's cover.... "
— Mary, 1/6/2014" Cute stories and each had a fun little twist. "
— Janalynn, 12/25/2013" I'm not a realy fan of the little story collections, so I didn't love this one. It was pretty funny though, the author has a lot of creativity. "
— Lauren, 11/23/2013" Thoroughly enjoyable! Fun re-tellings of the "Red Riding Hood" story for teens and adults. My favorite was "Why Willie and his Brother Won't Ever Amount to Anything." "
— Kara, 11/6/2013" Good for a quick laugh or two. "
— Alise, 10/15/2013" Another fun V.V.V fairytale rewrite. If you like this book, see "The Rumplestilskin Problem,"which I thought was even better. "
— Bayla, 10/3/2013" I liked her Rumplestiltskin variations better. "
— Susan, 9/2/2013" This is a really fun book. It tells 8 new versions of Little Red Riding Hood. The Author's Notes will have you laughing out loud. Really enjoyable. "
— Danette, 9/1/2013" It was ok for the kind of book it was, but it was not breathtaking. "
— Ema, 8/4/2013" I loved the introduction to this book. And sone of Vande Velde's adaptions were great--I especially liked the one where grandma had to scare away a suitor. But, some of them were a bit weird too. "
— Kristi, 7/25/2013" to me it was average "
— Aleyna, 6/29/2013" A fun look at Little Red Riding Hood. "
— Ardis, 6/13/2013" Very clever tales! "
— Tammy, 5/27/2013" This is a collection of short stories retelling Little Red Riding Hood. They were imaginative and interesting. My favorite part was the author's note about what makes Little Red Riding Hood a lame fairy tale. So humorous! My picky reader really enjoyed them as well. "
— Andrea, 5/25/2013" It was really fun to see the different retellings of Little Red Riding Hood. She is very creative! "
— Kellie, 4/25/2013" This collection was a lot of fun. Vivian Vande Velde retells the story of "Little Red Riding Hood" eight different times in eight different ways. These stories range from the amusing to the even more amusing. "
— Jenna, 3/26/2013" Cute, not quite as awesome as The Rumplestiltskin Problem. "
— Missie, 1/27/2013" The author has such sarcastic humor. She pointed some things out about the Little Red Riding Hood tale I never thought of before. The stories felt too short, or pointless. After reading other books by VVV, I don't think this was her strongest effort. "
— Heidi, 10/13/2012Vivian Vande Velde is an American writer of fiction for children and young adults. She was born in Rochester, New York. She began writing at age twenty-eight, the year her daughter was born, and has been publishing relatively consistently since. She currently resides in Rochester, where she is involved in multiple circles/groups of young writers in the Rochester area.
Jeff Cummings, as an audiobook narrator, has won both an Earphones Award and the prestigious Audie Award in 2015 for Best Narration in Science and Technology. He is also a twenty-year veteran of the stage, having worked at many regional theaters across the country, from A Contemporary Theatre in Seattle and the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta to the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City and the International Mystery Writers’ Festival in Owensboro, Kentucky. He also spent seven seasons with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.