Little Red Riding Hoodie (Kel Richards, illus by Claire Richards, Scholastic)

Kel Richards has adapted many stories with a uniquely Australian flavour, such as The Lamington Man, The Three Kangaroos Gruff, Goldilocks and The Three Koalas. His latest book Little Red Riding Hoodie continues the Aussie tradition. This time there’s no big bad wolf but a wily dingo instead, and the story’s saviour isn’t a passing woodcutter but a squatter—in a blue singlet and Blundstone boots, of course. Richards always includes Aussie vernacular in his stories, and in this book he offers: ‘Gran was crook, as sick as a chook,’ and: ‘A large yellow dingo with a smooth line of lingo.’ Other words inserted in the text include ‘beaut’, ‘marge’, and ‘mallee’, ingeniously made to rhyme with ‘pally’. This retelling of a classic fairytale makes it feel new again. Instead of the traditional depiction of a young girl in a crimson cape, Claire Richards illustrates the protagonist in the thoroughly modern attire of a red hoodie—and throws in some ear phones as well. This resourceful miss also knows how to shear sheep and spin her own yarn to knit her grandmother a shawl. Preschoolers who are familiar (and a bit bored) with the Little Red Riding Hood story will appreciate this rhyming version.

Thuy On is a Melbourne-based reviewer and the books editor of the Big Issue

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

Category: Reviews