Cloaked in Red by Vivian Vande Velde

Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Children's Books
Publication Date: October 1, 2010
Pages: 128
Source: library
Buy It: Amazon / Borders / Barnes & Noble

So you think you 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? Master storyteller Vivian Vande Velde crafts eight new stories involving one of the world's most beloved (and mixed-up) characters in literature. You may never look at fairy tales in quite the same way again. -- Goodreads

Vivian Vande Velde takes the tale of Little Red Riding Hood and twists it into eight totally original, hilarious, and new tales.

With these eight new tales, she has created something unforgettable.  The characters will stand out more than anything.  She has characters ranging from talking dolls to vampires.

Each tale was humorous and fun, but most of all, I enjoyed the one with the werewolf and the vampire- like Twilight and little Red twist.

This does bring out a few questions.  Like, what were the Grimm Brothers thinking?  Poor Red was named after a piece of clothing- what is that?  It makes me wonder what the real version was.  How can this same tale be twisted so many ways and still sounds awesome.  There's a basis for every Little Red story- a wolf, a red hood, and grandma- the rest is up to your imagination.

First Sentence:

"Once upon a time, after fashion was discovered but before people had makeovers on TV, there was a young girl named Meg."

-Cloaked in Red by Vivian Vande Velde, p. 16

Rating:

Cover: 4
Characters: 3
Plot: 4
Writing Style: 5
Ending: 4
Overall: 4