Ninja Red Riding Hood

Ninja Red Riding Hood

Picture book
Certain recent variations on a very familiar folk tale are
finally upgrading its females from dainty flower picking child and bed
ridden senior citizen, desperately in need of rescue by a male (of
course) woodsman. Corey Rosen Schwartz's Ninja Red Riding Hood, told
in vivid verse, is a delightful variation on this theme.
The villainous wolf is getting tired of being defeated by
seemingly easy prey. That varmint is some hungry, with a stomach
"achin' for bacon." So he sneaks into a martial arts school.
When he finally feels ready to hunt himself a good meal Woolfie
meets up with Riding Hood. He diverts her to flower picking and
sneaks into her Grandma's bed. Only...
...he isn't the only one who has gone to Ninja school. :)
Ninja Red Riding Hood is a wonderful read aloud with a surprise
twist at the end.
On a personal note, recently in the community garden we encountered a
formidible varmint, a snapping turtle big enough to break fingers with
its reptilian jaws. We used a shovel to very carefully relocate. I
named it Bruce Poliquin after this part of Maine's congressional
representative. Both have a tendency to pull their heads in when
there's information they don't want to know. Both snap out at anyone
who stands in their way.
A great big shout out goes out to Emily Cain who is running against
him, her staff and volunteers, and the citizens who will have the good
sense to vote for her in November.
jules hathaway


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