Red Riding Hood

by Beatrix Potter (Adapter), Helen Oxenbury (Illustrator)

"Once upon a time there was a village child who was so pretty - so pretty as never was seen . . ."

So begins Beatrix Potter's retelling of Red Riding Hood. A darkly delicious adaptation of the classic tale, filled with trademark Potter wit and flourishes, little Red Riding Hood sets off to Granny's house with a very hungry wolf in tow.

But nobody saw her pass.

Brilliantly brought to life with artwork by one of the world's greatest illustrators, Helen Oxenbury, this is the perfect gift for Beatrix Potter fans, big and small.

Genres: Picture Books, Classics, Childrens, Fairy Tales, Audiobook, Fantasy, Retellings

48 pages, Hardcover

First published September 19, 2019

About the author

Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, mycologist, and conservationist who is best known for her children's books, which featured animal characters such as Peter Rabbit.

Born into a wealthy household, Potter was educated by governesses and grew up isolated from other children. She had numerous pets, and through holidays in Scotland and the Lake District, developed a love of landscape, flora, and fauna, all of which she closely observed and painted. Because she was a woman, her parents discouraged intellectual development, but her study and paintings of fungi led her to be widely respected in the field of mycology.

In her thirties, Potter published the highly successful children's book The Tale of Peter Rabbit and became secretly engaged to her publisher, Norman Warne, causing a breach with her parents, who disapproved of his social status. Warne died before the wedding.

Potter eventually published 24 children's books, the most recent being The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots (2016), and having become financially independent of her parents, was able to buy a farm in the Lake District, which she extended with other purchases over time.

In her forties, she married a local solicitor, William Heelis. She became a sheep breeder and farmer while continuing to write and illustrate children's books. Potter died in 1943 and left almost all of her property to The National Trust in order to preserve the beauty of the Lake District as she had known it, protecting it from developers.

Potter's books continue to sell well throughout the world, in multiple languages. Her stories have been retold in various formats, including a ballet, films, and in animation.

Reviews

[kezzie ʚ♡ɞ · Rating 4 out of 5]

✩ 4 stars
~
that ending made me laugh

[Miranda Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know the original one was dark...but jeez Beatrix Potter.

[Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-known classic but with a twist that leaves no happy ending for Red or her grandmother in the end. Loved Helen Oxenbury's illustrations and thought they were so expressive. I loved the way she illustrated the wolf's facial expressions and they made me laugh. I did see a few continuity errors in the illustrations but that's just me being picky. Beatrix Potter's lush prose was lovely and made the story more descriptive and engaging for readers of all ages.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wordy, old-timey language. A more elaborate take on the story which explains things like why the wolf didn't just eat Little Red in the first place. The grandma and Little Red do not get saved in the end.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: Once upon a time there was a village child who was so pretty—so pretty as never was seen. Her mother was fair silly about her, and her granny was sillier still.

Premise/plot: Beatrix Potter’s retelling of the folk tale is newly illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. Don’t expect a happy ending for granny or Little Red.

My thoughts: This story is dark, dark, very dark. I won’t say it’s unrealistic. Sadly, it is. Not about wolves eating and cross dressing, but in people going missing, or being murdered. The world can be dangerous and dark; not all wolves appear as wolves.

I appreciated the language especially in the beginning before the darkness descends.

Text:4/5
Illustrations:4/5
Total:8/10

[Shari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a big fan of this version although I love most of Beatrix Potter's other stories. Illustrations were great!

[Chloe Menham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fairy tale adapts the traditional telling of the story and morphs into an enjoyable, alternative ending which is enjoyed by all ages.
The dark adaptation was made for out-loud story telling, Beatrix Potter has put all her well-known wit into creating a memorable tale about a familiar character.

The inclusion of song lyrics in the story makes the story come to life, you can almost hear the woodcutters sing through the pages.

[Raven Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

A five due to Helen Oxenbury's illustrations. It is the Little Red Riding Hood story with a darker, more true to the original. With a few "softer" spots. Most likely for the collector of fairy tales, Little Red stories or collectors of Oxenbury.

[Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a story so old, everyone knows the ending.

I'm not sure if I've ever actually read the book before, by anyone, however my mum as well as my grandparents are huge "fans" of Beatrix Potters works, as I'm sure many other people are.

Whenever I hear Red Riding Hood in any kind of context, my mind always flashes to two different films - Red Riding Hood starring Amanda Seyfried and Hoodwinked. Red Riding Hood was such a dark twist on the tale involving curses and werewolves and Hoodwinked tells the story from multiple view points with wrong outlooks on generic "good" and "bad" characters.

I like this story, because while it stayed the same mostly, the last sentence is the most morbid. I read this through an audiobook, so hearing that sentence through the narrator's voice and expression felt so final, and creepily cheery. I like how no woodcutter comes to the rescue, and it just ends with "and so that was the end of Red Riding Hood". It doesn't go into detail, and say the wolf gobbled her up and such, because anyone can deduce that hearing the line "what big teeth you have" is only ever going to come to one answer and one overall conclusion. So I like the writing. However, it isn't anything special or new, but that isn't what I was looking for so.

[Книжни Криле · Rating 5 out of 5]

Обикновено свързваме името на Биатрикс Потър с нейните вълшебно илюстрирани книги, в които приказното и реалистичното вървят ръка за ръка. При все, че четириногите герои, населяващи книжките й говорят и дори носят дрехи, майсторството на английската художничка и писателка ни кара да ги възприемаме едва ли не като напълно истински животни. Този път обаче четем книжка, в която Биатрикс Потър не само, че не рисува, но дори и не разказва своя собствена приказка, а преразказва една добре известна такава! Животното тук пък… Дано малките читатели да не възприемат и него като напълно истинско, че току виж се изплашили здравата. Но нека сложим край на догадките ви и представим заглавието: „Червената шапчица”, преразказана от Биатрикс Потър, илюстрирана от Хелън Оксенбъри и издадена на български от изд. „Труд”. Прочетете ревюто на "Книжни Криле": https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/201...

[Emmy Kirkham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Traditional
Grade Level: K-2

I enjoyed this rendition of Red Riding Hood! The story was very familiar to me, so it was a nice refresher. The illustrations are so good and I love her watercolor style. I definitely would use this story in my classroom when discussing traditional literature because of those drawings, as well as the detail in the writing. The ending was a bit abrupt and not like the usual story, but I think the students can handle it.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Illustrations are lovely. Kids and I were surprised at the end when “that was the end of little Red Riding Hood.” I actually laughed and my kids were in shock. I would not be surprised if this was how the original version ended, since grownups used to use stories to frighten children into obedience. But the illustrations are very lovely, and if you enjoy Potter’s style of writing, you might enjoy it despite the unfortunate ending.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was okay. I didn't like the ending, but the foreword does warn you that's it's a gruesome ending. I love the illustrations though. They are so well done and love the color palette. The book recommends this to children ages 3 to 7 years old, but I don't know. I don't think I would read this to preschoolers. Some of the language is old school and it's a bit wordy (in my opinion).

[Sue Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love the author and absolutely love the illustrator of this book! All should be warned that this is the darker telling of this classic tale. If that's your style then this is definitely the book for you, it's beautiful! Unfortunately my children would not react well to this version so I was unable to share it with them.

[Alana/MiaTheReader · Rating 1 out of 5]

Usually I love Helen Oxenbury and Beatrix Potter, but I did not appreciate this retelling and should have previewed before reading aloud to my 3-year-old! Of course, the pictures are marvelous, but they could not save this book for me.

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always thought the story of little Red Riding Hood was rather morbid! The pictures in here are well done and this version is cleverly told! So if your wanting to read this unfortunate tale to your children this is a good retelling...

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so surprised to see this classic tale, adapted by BP herself! I think i put her in a "Peter Rabbit" box sometimes, forgetting her brilliance with prose and poetry.

This is a more true to the original tale in that it's a bit dark.

The illustrations by Helen Oxenbury are delightful!

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice dark version of the story. Love the ending!

[DanielS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Никак не съм удовлетворен от финала - гениален е, но не завършва, както бих искал. Илюстрациите са чудесни.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations, a dark version of the story.

[Nicki · Rating 1 out of 5]

It really just ended with Little Red Ridinghood dead inside the wolf?!?

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the pictures, but it doesn't have the traditional ending where the granny and red get saved. So it's not true to form, but we love the beautiful pictures and my son loves it.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as an bedtime story to myself and quite liked it! I liked the illustrations and most of all the ending - quite eerie.

[Jaehyun Jeong]

I liked the illustration by Helen Oxenbury.

[Kate Perrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this dark version. The Wolf’s transformation from a scrawny hungry wolf to a rather large wolf is simply terrific.

[Juli Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This version has all the delightful specificity and wry morbidity that one expects from Potter, and Oxenbury's illustrations bring it poetic, humorous life.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think I've ever read Beatrix Potter before, but I have read Scary Stories for Young Foxes, so I don't like Beatrix Potter. This retelling was not my favorite. The ending was not great.

[Kalilah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations are just beautiful. My four-year-old niece found the ending quite sudden and, though she said nothing, I could see she was perturbed xD

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is closer to Charles Perrault's original French story.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting variation of the classic story.