The Cat, the Dog, Little Red, the Exploding Eggs, the Wolf, and Grandma

June 2, 2014
In this story-about-a-story, the husband-and-wife Foxes (Tyson the Terrible) draw a bossy, teacher-ish cat and an irrepressible pup arguing their way through a reading of Little Red Riding Hood. “Cool! I love stories about superheroes,” the pup says, imagining that Little Red Riding Hood’s cape is part of a Superman-style outfit. “What’s her special power?” “She doesn’t have any special powers,” says the cat primly. “It’s not that kind of a story.” But the dog is undeterred. “She’s not very bright, is she?” he complains. “I mean, if there were a wolf dressed up as MY Grandma, I might have noticed right away.” Simple line drawings à la Sandra Boynton give the animals adorably large snouts and tiny bodies, while lots of white space and props that come and go give the story a theatrical feel, as if the two were doing improv. There’s plenty of subversive laughter, and a sly turn at the end when the cat’s bloodthirsty account of the climax exposes the dog’s tenderer feelings: “Are you absolutely sure this is a children’s book?” he asks. Ages 4–8. Agent: Marilyn Malin Consultancy.

June 1, 2014
A metafictive examination of "Little Red Riding Hood."The book opens and closes with a cartoon-style dog and cat-the main characters-discussing the endpapers on the endpapers. They also appear on the title page, the cat with dripping paintbrush in paw, apparently having just finished painting the title. The story begins in earnest as the cat reads "Little Red Riding Hood" aloud to the dog, the text of the tale appearing as a printed sheet of paper, which appears along with the dog and cat against the white background. Believing Little Red to be a superhero, the dog asks what her special power is. The cat explains that Little Red has no superpowers, but the dog continues to drive the cat to distraction. Interestingly, while the grandmother hides in a closet and so avoids being eaten, Little Red's father appears and cuts off the wolf's head before Little Red is swallowed-a strange deus ex machina salvation that is not quite as violent as the original story. (It's violent enough for the dog to question the story's appropriateness for children, however.) The use of minimal color and objects in the illustrations, coupled with the sometimes-advanced humor, suits the book to older readers with prior knowledge of both fairy tales and superheroes and maturing attention spans. Unfortunately, the book is more metafiction than story, making it feel more an exercise than, well, a book.Too smart for its own good. (Picture book. 5-9)

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June 1, 2014

K-Gr 2-Children who liked Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith's The Stinky Cheese Man (Viking, 1992) or The True Story of the Three Little Pigs! (Viking, 1989) will find that this fractured fairy tale is right up their alley. As Cat attempts to tell Dog the story of "Little Red Riding Hood," Dog constantly interrupts, asking questions and making comments. Cat snaps even before the wolf arrives and yells, "There's NO kindness ray, NO flying basket, and NO exploding eggs. She's just a sweet little girl with terrible fashion sense on her way to see her Grandmother." And on it goes until Dog's parting question, "Is Grandma still in the closet [hiding]?" At this point, Cat throws the book at him. In all fairness to Dog, Grandma's whereabouts after "Little Red Riding Hood's father arrived and chopped off the wolf's head with an axe!" is not specifically mentioned. The illustrations are simple, yet effective, black-and-white line drawings of Cat and Dog highlighted with color bits, such as the aforementioned axe (no blood), storybook, Red's basket, grandma's bed, etc. There is ample white space, allowing readers to focus on the words. Excellent use is made of bold type and capital letters for emphasis. Placement of text and illustrations varies from page to page, which helps to keep the story moving along. And make sure children don't miss the great comments about the endpapers on, where else, the endpapers. Great fun.-Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH

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