YA Buddy Readers' Corner ♥ discussion

So you think 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.

The Red Cloak
(view spoiler)[I thought it was funny how in this retelling the wolf is the rescuer and the woodcutter is the bad guy. The ending made her mother's reasoning correct. (hide spoiler)]

The Red Riding Hood Doll
(view spoiler)[Sad how the doll she made just abandoned her. (hide spoiler)]

Little Red Riding Hood's Family
(view spoiler)[This story started out cute and interesting, then became a bit strange. Granny as a werewolf was funny, but then the vampire and Red being a witch? Too much. (hide spoiler)]

Granny and the Wolf
(view spoiler)[This was a humorous little tale. Granny sure did get herself into a little pickle, what with all her unexpected visitors, but the way it ended was good. (hide spoiler)]

Starting soon!

Deems the Wood Gatherer
(view spoiler)[Oh, all the stories he messed up! And he thought he was helping, but he was only aiding the villains. (hide spoiler)]

Why Willy and His Brother Won't Ever Amount to Anything
(view spoiler)[A retelling with the Grimm brothers. It was okay, but the only part I thought was good was the twist of the boys being Grimms. (hide spoiler)]

The Little Red Headache
(view spoiler)[Haha. In this version the wolf is only trying to help, but the people are to afraid to notice and keep running away/hiding. (hide spoiler)]

Little Red Riding Hood's Little Red Riding Hood
(view spoiler)[Clever idea for a retelling, having the cloak accidentally get the wish intended for the girl - she definitely could've used that smartness spell. That ending though, having the cloak be free of her and being given from person to person until meeting up with superman and being his cape. (hide spoiler)]

Oh no. You only rated it 2 stars?? Makes me even less eager to read it. Lol

Author’s Note: (view spoiler)[I really enjoyed the author’s note. Some of those versions of Little Red Riding Hood, I had never heard of before. (hide spoiler)]

1st Story: 4 stars! (view spoiler)[I really enjoyed this version. I thought it was creative that the woodcutter was the villain in this story and how she saved herself by using the wolf to intimidate her would be abductor. I also appreciate the irony of the tables being turned and how Meg was clever enough to think about ransoming the woodcutter rather than the other way around. (hide spoiler)]

2nd Story: 3 Stars. (view spoiler)[I like that in this story, little read riding hood is a doll and Georgette’s mom is the “Granny.” That gives an interesting perspective! Plus I really liked that Georgette and her mother are dressmakers... it was just creepy that she made a life sized doll to be her daughter. That’s would give me nightmares. Although I kinda wish that the doll would’ve turned evil, rather than just quoting closing lines usually said by the wolf in the traditional stories. (hide spoiler)]

3rd Story: 3 Stars. (view spoiler)[
-Lol, I’m also an only child, my mom on the other hand was the youngest of six. She would tell me it was her job to embarrass me and pick on me... as if it was my fault I was an only child. 😂 So I can relate to Roselle! 😂
-It’s interesting that not only is Granny a Werewolf, but it’s more interesting that her family is aware of it and not frightened.
-Omg, a werewolf, a vampire, and witches. It sounds like the beginning of a cheesy joke. (hide spoiler)]

4th Story: 3 Stars. (view spoiler)[
-Finally there’s a story where a wolf is dressed up in a bonnet. Although, instead of the wolf imitating the Granny, the wolf is dressed up by the Granny to look like her granddaughter.
-Lol. How many people can Granny hide in her house? This take on the story reminds me loosely of the children’s book There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly.
(hide spoiler)]

5th Story: 2 Stars. (view spoiler)[
-Oooo, this one involves the three little pigs!
-Eh, even though this one is creative with tying in the three little pigs story, this story is too close to a traditional fairytale. It has a naive main character that always bugs me in stories.
-Ok, there’s a collection of classic stories tied into this one, including a classic Little Red Riding Hood.
(hide spoiler)]

6th Story: 4 Stars. (view spoiler)[
-It’s interesting that this time the cloak is actually green. It was only called red by a boy who was colorblind.
-Omg! I love that the troublesome neighbors ended up being the Grimm Brothers!! 😂 Willy did have a big imagination. Lol
(hide spoiler)]

7th Story: 2 Stars. (view spoiler)[
-Aww, the wolf is just misunderstood.
-I just didn’t have enough of an opinion on this story.
(hide spoiler)]

8th Story: 3 Stars. (view spoiler)[
-Interesting, this time there’s a fairy godmother!
-It’s kind of cool that the cloak was an accidental magical hand-me-down.
-Ruby is driving me crazy. She’s so annoying and like it’s stated in the story, not smart.
(hide spoiler)]

Megan wrote: "Little Red Riding Hood's Family
[spoilers removed]"

Agreed! (view spoiler)[It was so odd! The other mythical creatures weren’t needed. I wonder if she started running out of ideas lol (hide spoiler)]

Megan wrote: "Little Red Riding Hood's Little Red Riding Hood
[spoilers removed]"

Was it just me or (view spoiler)[did you also get Ella Enchanted (the movie) vibes with the fairy godmother? Lol (hide spoiler)]

Jacquelyn wrote: "Author’s Note: [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I thought it was funny in the author’s note how she says little red riding was either too young or dim witted 😝 (hide spoiler)]

Megan wrote: "The Red Cloak
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I liked how the roles were reversed, and also the modern vibe of this with the ransom haha (hide spoiler)]

Megan wrote: "Granny and the Wolf
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ yes I thought this one was funny! I loved how she was trying to get rid of her suitor by saying her dead husband used to help her get rid of the hairs on her legs 😝 (hide spoiler)]

finished (view spoiler)[ I liked how here were so many other fairytales incorporated throughout. I liked the different role reversals in the different stories as it added a new element to the retellings. The way it was modernised was also really cool (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[This was so funny! Thinking back on it, some of these children's stories are messed up and morbid. I always loved a retelling.. (hide spoiler)]
Author's Note

(view spoiler)[ I like how Little Red Riding Hood saved herself. The woodcutter ended up being this creepy guy who was gonna do God knows what. Red's sharp thinking got her out of the siuation from the creepy guy AND the wolf (hide spoiler)]
Story 1

(view spoiler)[ This was like Little Red Riding Hood meets Pinocchio. Funny how the daughter just ditches her for the guys. Typical teen I guess XD (hide spoiler)]
Story 2

(view spoiler)[ It's like the author crammed all supernatural elements in one story: a werewolf, a vampire, and a witch. I pictured this with spooky music and suspense when Rosette approaches granny, and it breaking when granny says "I'm trying to look for 4 shoes that match." LOL! (hide spoiler)]
Story 3

(view spoiler)[ The wolf was so cute and sweet! Nelda was funny stashing everyone away to get rid of the next person on her doorstep. Goodwin reminded me of Gaston ugh all a woman needs is a dog..or a wolf :D (hide spoiler)]
Story 4

(view spoiler)[A blend of all the stories..Three Little Pigs, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, etc. This guy thought he was helping everyone, but really he screwed everyone over. Ha! (hide spoiler)]
Story 5

(view spoiler)[Velde is totally making fun of Little Red Riding Hood here when the kid who axed the toy explains why he did it. But she is also tipping her hat to the Grimm's brothers. Love that. (hide spoiler)]
Story 6

(view spoiler)[This is like a role reversal/different perspective story. The wolf was innocent the whole time..just a victim of circumstance or wrong place wrong time. Poor guy..he's like the good guy in all of these stories lol (hide spoiler)]
Story 7

(view spoiler)[This one was eh. The personified cloak was not my favorite and Little Red Riding Hood was so dumb and annoying. I like how the cloak became a part of superheroes though. (hide spoiler)]
Story 8

Page 19

(view spoiler)[So she took her cloak and dyed it red. I can see how that would be annoying, but I think the intentions were good. (hide spoiler)]

Megan wrote: "The Red Riding Hood Doll
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[So sad! She just wanted to have a daughter to love and it abandoned her... :( (hide spoiler)]

Megan wrote: "Why Willy and His Brother Won't Ever Amount to Anything
[spoilers removed]"

Same!(view spoiler)[I thought the ending where is says they only went on to become writers was funny, though. ;) (hide spoiler)]

Megan wrote: "Little Red Riding Hood's Little Red Riding Hood
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[That cloak was brave! It protected her from the wolf. She was really dumb, though.... (hide spoiler)]

Finished

(view spoiler)[I thought it was just okay. I enjoyed a couple of the stories, but most were just blah. (hide spoiler)]