Retold and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
Publisher Holiday House
ISBN 0-8234-0470-6
I absolutely adore this book. Trina Schart Hyman did a wonderful job of retelling Little Red Riding Hood a classic fairy tale originally written by The Brothers Grimm. There are many versions of this story, most keep to the original. The story is of a girl named Elizabeth, nicknamed Red Riding Hood, because she always wore her red cloak. She was bringing a basket of food to her sick grandmother who lives in the woods. Her mother made her promise to stay on the path and mind her manners. Red Riding Hood followed her mom’s advice until she met a sly wolf along the way. Maybe her mom should have told her not to talk to strangers instead because the wolf gave her an idea to pick flowers for her sick grandma to cheer her up.
While Red Riding Hood is off the path, picking flowers, the wolf shows up at grandma’s house and eats her up. Once Red Riding Hood gets there, she walks in to find the wolf dressed in grandma’s nightgown. My favorite part of the story is when she meets the wolf the second time and questions him “Grandmother! What big, hairy ears you have grown!” she said. “The better to hear you with, my dear.” Red Riding Hood continues to ask questions like these and then suddenly the wolf springs out of bed and eats her up too.
The wolf, tired after his big meal, decides to take a nap. The huntsman hears the wolf snoring, thinks it is the grandma, and goes to see if she is alright. When he finds the wolf instead, he shoots the wolf, and saves Red Riding Hood and her grandmother. Red Riding Hood learned her lesson, not to wander off the path and wished she listened to her mother. This book teaches children a valuable lesson in the end and parents are still trying to teach their children that lesson today; the dangers of talking to strangers.
The illustrations in this book are absolutely fabulous. The detail in every drawing on every page is so realistic. This book is truly a work of art. One of the things I love most about Trina Schart Hyman’s illustrations is her attention to detail. On the opposite page, the story is framed with borders that are done in different patterns and pictures that coincide with what is going on in the story. The colors used in the pictures are dark, giving the story a more eerie feel to it which is another reason why I love this version of the story. If you are a fan of classic fairy tales and I am not referring to the Disney song singing fairy tales; I mean the dark, original Brothers Grimm stories, you will definitely enjoy reading this book.
I found Trina Schart Hyman’s version of Little Red Riding Hood to be interesting as she has incorporated the original Brothers Grimm version into her own retelling of this old tale. I like how she incorporated the Pennsylvania Dutch folk art into her borders. Her illustrations are very detailed and because of this they seem to tell a story of their own. No wonder it received a Caldecott honor!
ReplyDeleteThe black cat that follows Elizabeth to grandma’s house would be interesting for children to point out while following the story. Readers can make their own theories as to what the black cat symbolizes in Trina’s illustrations. I would probably not introduce this version into a class with young children, but I may use it in the upper grades if I were to do a comparative study on folk tales.
I find myself to be more of a pacifist and I guess that is why I prefer the softer fairy tales rather than the original versions which focus more on the darker nature of human kind. I know that most fairy tales include ideas such as; deceit, murder, and evil, but when an author is able to get these ideas across to a reader without being explicit I find them to be more appealing. I was able to view and read part of Little Red Riding Hood, by Trina Schart Hyman online. I would like to read the whole story if you wouldn’t mind bringing it to class Monday. I thank you for introducing me to this book, and I look forward to reading it!