RED RIDING HOOD

For children aged 3-7, this retelling of the story of Red Riding Hood by the legendary children's author Beatrix Potter is a gorgeous read. It is beautifully complemented with full-page colour illustrations by Helen Oxenbury, acclaimed illustrator of the modern children's classic We're Going on a Bear Hunt. Unlike the authors of some versions, Potter makes no attempt to disguise the fact that the story does not end well for Red Riding Hood and her Grandma, but in her foreword to the volume, Oxenbury explains that she has tried to offer an alternative, happier ending in her final illustration, where the woodcutters are running after the escaping fox who is far too fat to get away. The villainous fox is in many ways the star of the story with his gleaming eyes and malevolently scheming expression, and Oxenbury describes how she really enjoyed bringing out the humour in his wickedness. Potter's own stories are rooted in the English countryside, and these illustrations bring out the beauty of the path which "led over hill and dale, through golden meadow sunshine, and under the flickering, leafy shadows of the birch trees." Red Riding Hood is pictured waist high in a meadow of poppies and cow parsley, then in the shadows of the evening sunshine as she reaches her destination. 46pp, beautifully illustrated in colour.