Little Red Riding Sheep - Hardcover

Lodding, Linda Ravin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1481457489 ISBN 13: 9781481457484

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2017

Synopsis

The beloved classic, Little Red Riding Hood, has never had a cuter, more enthusiastic star than Arnold in this witty picture book that’s perfect for reading aloud.

Arnold is an eager young sheep who is excited to be in his very first book. No problem-o! Except he’s a bit big and fluffy to play Little Red Riding Hood, and he’s a tiny bit scared of the deep dark woods. Oh, and he has a friend who would be just perfect as Granny…perhaps the author wouldn’t mind a few suggestions?

About this title

About the Author

Linda Ravin Lodding, like Arnold, has always loved talking back…and writing her own stories. Now she is the award-winning author of five children’s books. Linda is originally from New York but has spent the past twenty years in Austria, The Netherlands, and now Sweden. Today she lives in Uppsala with her husband and teenage daughter. When Linda is not writing, she works for a children’s rights organization initiated by the Swedish Royal Family. (And, also like Arnold, she is a smidgen afraid of the woods.)

Cale Atkinson may or may not be a sheep. He is also an author, illustrator, and animator from British Columbia, Canada. His work can be found in picture books including To the Sea and Explorers of the Wild, which he wrote and illustrated. See more of his work at Cale.ca.

Reviews

PreS-Gr 2—In this story within a story, an unnamed narrator attempts to tell the classic tale of "Little Red Riding Hood," only to be repeatedly interrupted by a sheep named Arnold. Frustrated that sheep are often in the background of books and not active participants, Arnold begs to be cast as Little Red Riding Hood. Following his initial success, he makes further suggestions about setting and dialogue and proposes that the other roles be reassigned to his animal friends. In one ponderous section, the plot visits uncharted territory as Arnold is redrawn and made thinner by a guest artist. Throughout, readers meet a muskrat and warthog, who are also looking for gigs as storybook characters, and, at last, a buffalo, who readers learn is the reteller Arnold has been interrupting. Arnold may be adorable, but his pun-heavy demands on the narrator are more annoying than cute, and the narrator's responses come across as tired and disinterested. Though the text falls flat, Atkinson's artwork is charming, and every sketch and brightly painted layered spread featuring allergy-laden Einer the muskrat is particularly delightful. VERDICT This is a fun lesson in storytelling with cheerful illustrations that may amuse kids, but ultimately the leading player's irritating behavior makes him an unsympathetic character. A quirky and over-the-top retelling.—Lauren Younger, New York Public Library

Edition details

• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1481457489
• ISBN 13: 9781481457484
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Atkinson Cale
• Number of pages: 40