Honestly, Red Riding Hood was Rotten!: The Story of Little Red Riding Hood as Told by the Wolf (The Other Side of the Story)

Born in 1974 in Nantes, France, Gerald grew up in nine different cities around the land of cheese. He graduated from the National School of Applied Art (also called Olivier de Serres) in 1998. Gerald's creativity blossomed at a web design company, an event studio, a video-games studio, and then several animations studios. Aside from illustration, Gerald has many other interests, including managing the French Comics Artists association Rendez-Vous (which published its first book at Akileos publishing in 2009), or co-leading with the Japanese Artist Daisuke Tsutsumi the artistic and charity project Sketchtravel, a real sketchbook shared by 70 illustrators from all around the world. When Trisha Speed Shaskan was a girl, she wanted to become a superhero. Her mother gave her a Wonder Woman costume. Her dad crafted her a tiara and bracelets out of metal to match. Trisha imagined she could fight evil, fly an invisible airplane, and get anyone to tell the truth. While she didn't grow up to be Wonder Woman, she still uses her imagination to write stories and to teach creative writing. Trisha has taught creative writing to children and adults for thirteen years. She has published 26 books for children, and more are forthcoming. She has an MFA in creative writing from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Trisha currently lives in Minneapolis with her husband, Stephen, and their cat, Eartha, named after Eartha Kitt, famous for her role as Catwoman.

Title: Honestly, Red Riding Hood was Rotten!: The Story of Little Red Riding Hood as Told by the Wolf (The Other Side of the Story)

Author: Speed Shaskan, Trisha

ISBN: 9781406243109

Binding:

Publisher: Capstone Global Library Ltd

Publication Date: 2012-06-13

Number of Pages: 24

Weight: 0.1180 kg

My Thoughts: Honestly, Red Riding Hood Was Rotten is written by Trisha Speed Shaskan and illustrated by Gerald Guerlais. It is a picture book for children and it is the first one I have ever reviewed. It is sweet (well in a way), most pages have one big picture in it and little text and it is short. It is a picture book after all. I do love picture books and I have read quite a few lately when temping at a kindergarten. I am sure they would have liked this fun story. I am not sure about ages, not too young since the wolf does eat Red and her granny so the kids have to see the humor in it. But it is also very short so too short for older kids. And I am sure adults would have fun reading it too. I sure did. This is the story told by the big bad wolf who loves food, and then I mean food like apples. But then one day there is no food in his cupboards anymore and he is hungry. He sees a girl all dress in red, like one big apple. She looks good enough to eat, she and her grandmother that he hears about. Too bad the girl is full of herself. Her grandmother is all dressed in green, like a yummy green apple, and she is also very full of herself. And yes he eats them, but then that does not matter because I am all on Wolf's side. He is funny and hungry. Grandmother's house was fun to see. There were portraits of her everywhere. That is one shallow family. I do think they had it coming for them. At the end there are also some things to think about. Like how the story changed when it was told from his point of view, and there is a glossary too. And how you can read and learn more, and internet sites to check out. All good things for the kids. Verdict: A good and fun story for everyone to like and the illustrations are really adorable. Rating, how does one rate a book like this one? Ok the pictures were cute! So that gets a 4 and because of the overall story is stays a 4. Very amusing and adorable. http://www.stella-exlibris.com/2011/06/book-review-honestly-red-riding-hood.html * Ex Libris blog *
This was my first book from NetGalley book. This is a classic fairy tail retelling of Little red Riding Hood, told in the wolfs point of view. I enjoyed it. I was a quick read. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/172851026 * GoodReads.com *
'Honestly Red Riding Hood Was Rotten' written by Trisha Speed Shaskan was a highly entertaining and humorous picture book aimed for young readers. It's a fairy tale with a twist, where the story was told from the Big Bad Wolf point of view. In this story, the wolf was portrayed as a vegetarian wolf who haven't been eating as food is scarce while Red Riding Hood was portrayed as a little vain pot, just like her grandmother. Very humorous kind of book, really, and a very refreshing approach to the classic fairy tale. It was beautifully illustrated as well with the wolf looking pitiful and the Red Riding Hood looking vain and annoying as ever. I've loved stories like this; where the story is told from the bad people point of view. To me, there's always two side of the same story and you ought to not just listen to the 'good' people's version of the story. For what it's worth, the villains are just poor, misunderstood characters. I enjoyed this book very much, and highly recommended as a bedtime stories for both boys and girls age 5 years up. I received an ARC of this book from Capstone publisher via Netgalley. I was not compensated in any ways for writing this review. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/173830558 * GoodReads.com *
This fractured fairy tale serves up great entertainment. Wolf is hungry and it is not apple season yet (apparetnly a favorite food for him since he is a vegetarian). He sniffs Red Riding hood in the area and the plot continues along similar to the traditional story, except that the wolf portrays Red Riding Hood as quite conceited. The very humorous language is all told from the Wolf's point of view. Little Red looks like a very large apple although very pretty. Her grandmother looks like a large green apple. The wolf looks endearing and innocent, as he would want to since he narrates the story! At the back of the book are some questions to prompt discussion and writing as well as a glossary. Other titles in the series are also listed for additional reading pleasure. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/173721235 * GoodReads.com *
Fractured fairy tales tend to pop up in third or fourth grade curricula, and one strategy for students is to retell a classic story from the point of view of another character, particularly the villain. This title, part of a new Capstone series, provides a new, funny mentor text on the Red Riding Hood story. In this version, RRH is a roly-poly ball of self-centeredness, giving an additional twist. Add this to Scieszka's classic fractured fairy tale titles as mentor texts for that project. Lush, saturated caricatures make this a good read-aloud, although text size is less than generous. Highly recommended. http://www.librarything.com/work/11350863/book/74050543 * LibraryThing.com *
Overall this is a very funny book, that is engaging to the young audience that it is aimed at. My two daughters, aged 2 and 7 years, both enjoyed this book so much I have had to read it to them every night. My 7 year old said that she found the story very funny and liked the fact that it was a retelling of the children's classic Little Red Riding Hood, but from the wolf's point of view. The illustrations by Gerald Guerlais are first class and add to the overall appeal of the book. Honestly, Little Red Riding Hood was Rotten is a must have for people with young children. My children and I can't wait to read the other books in the series. http://worldofbookreviews.blogspot.com/2011/05/review-honestly-red-riding-hood-is.html * World of Book Reviews blog *
Honestly, Red Riding Hood, was Rotten is a retelling of the tale of Little Red Riding Hood in the narrative of the Big Bad Wolf. The Wolf claims that he doesn't eat meat (at least tries not to) and is very fond of apples. To his misfortunate, it wasn't apple season , so it had been a few weeks since he ate. He was in the woods and his stomach was craving food. He could smell a girl with cake. He found the girl to be Little Red Riding Hood and says she looks like an apple. He really loves apples. She reveals that she is going to take it to her Grandma, so the Wolf challenges her to the race. Naturally, the Wolf makes it first and the grandma looks just as delicious and like an apple. She also is conceited and concerned about her likes just like Little Red Riding Hood. I loved all the pictures. I didn't feel sympathetic to the Wolf, but Little Red Riding Hood and the Grandma were annoying. Children will find this book delightful. * GoodReads.com *
We all realize that in real life, there are always two sides of the story. In fairytales, however, there is always a good side and a bad side. Capstone publications is bringing real life to the picture books with their series of alternative fairy tales. Everyone knows the story of the sweet little girl in the red cloak, tripping her way through the woods on the way to feed her sick grandma. Trisha Speed Shaskan gives kids the other side of the story, the wolfs side. In Honestly, Red Riding Hood was Rotten! we are introduced to a very hungry wolf, the poor wolf is a vegetarian! But alas, he hasn't eaten a thing in weeks and he is starving to death. Does anyone blame him that he sees Little Red Riding Hood, looking exactly like a plump shining apple and smelling so sweetly of butter and cake? It's a cute little story, that shows children there are always two sides to every story, even the cut and dried fairy tale. Sponsorship Disclaimer: A preview galley of this book was provided free of charge for review purposes. All opinions are my own. http://www.afrugallife.org/2011/06/honestly-red-riding-hood-was-rotten-by.html * A Frugal Life blog *
Jacob and I love reading funny stories, particularly those that offer a new take on old tales. Red Riding Hood seems to be rising to the height of popularity both among adults (Red Riding Hood, the movie) and children (Hoodwinked), and Honestly, Red Riding Hood Was Rotten by Trisha Speed Shaskan takes full advantage of that. After years of listening to everyone tell the story of the poor little girl and her granny, the wolf finally gets his say. In his version, he was just a poor, hungry vegetarian who happened to love apples, and Red Riding Hood just happened to look like one! Plus, she was a bit of a vain snob, which she apparently got from her dear old granny. Poor Wolf simply had no choice but to eat the both of them. After all, we wouldn't want him to starve, would we? Jake and I both thought this re-imagining of the Red Riding Hood tale was pretty funny. The wolf makes some very good points- no one likes a vain person. While I don't think the author intended to impart any sort of moral of the story, I used it to explain to Jacob that boasting in such a snotty way is a good way to lose friends (or get eaten by wolves! No, I didn't really say that!). It's okay to be proud of your accomplishments, but standing around saying look how pretty I am is never a good idea. Jake said the ending freaked him out a bit, but not enough to give him nightmares or anything. The true star of this book, though, are the illustrations, done by Gerald Guerlais. The cover gives you a good idea of what you'll find inside. All the illustrations are so lush and textured, you want to just reach into the story and touch them. The wolf usually has a disarming goofy grin on his face, although a few times I did think he was kind of creepy looking. But overall, the images were just stunning. At the end of the book, the author included a few questions to ponder after reading the story. I love when they do this with children's books because it gives Jake and I more to talk about. One of the questions compares the original story, told from the point of view of an invisible narrator, with this story, told by the wolf, and asks children to decide which one is more truthful. From this, we launched into a discussion about biased and unbiased writing. Overall, I would recommend this to children who aren't easily freaked out by the idea of a wolf eating a little girl and her grandmother. Honestly, though, Red Riding Hood totally WAS rotten, and I don't blame the wolf for eating her! http://www.prettyopinionated.com/2011/06/book-review-honestly-red-riding-hood-rotten/ * Pretty Opinionated blog *
I love reading fairy tales from different countries, points of view, etc. So, I was immediately interested in reading this! Shaskan did not disappoint! Even though the book is incredibly short (at only 24 pages!), it is fun, funny, and a page turner. The illustrations are fantastic! There is a Think About It section at the end of the book that is a great guide to get young readers thinking about perspective and how that changes how events are perceived. 5 Stars: I will check out other stories in this series! http://boundanddeterminedtofindagoodread.blogspot.com/2011/05/early-review-honestly-red-riding-hood.html * Bound and Determined to Find a Good Read Blog *
Everyone knows there are usually two sides to every story. In this book Ms Shasken shows us the wolfs. Things aren't always as they seem and perspective plays a big part in why the wolf did what he did. A cute twist on an old favorite. Since I received this my daughter has requested it for bedtime every single night. She loves this version of the story. Well written in a way kids can understand and enjoy. With beautiful, colorful, illustration. At the end there are suggestion to compare the original version with this one which we did and had a blast picking out the differences and similarities. This is a fun tail...er tale for kids of all ages. An ARC copy of this book was provided to me free of charge by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. This review is in compliance with the FTC guidelines. http://roughingitmommystyle.blogspot.com/2011/06/honestly-red-riding-hood-was-rotten.html * Roughing It Mommy Style blog *
This was an adorable story with a great lesson to kids that they need to look at things from different angles to get the entire story. * NetGalley *