RICHARDS, Claire (illus.) Kel Richards (text) Little Red Riding Hoodie Scholastic, 2014 unpaged $13.99 pbk ISBN 9781742837116 SCIS 1667217
This is Kel Richard’s second story that presents a unique and modern Australian version of an old tale, using a range of colloquial language including a Grandma who is ‘crook’ and ‘a dingo with a smooth style of lingo’. His thoroughly modern Red Riding Hoodie is clad in red boots and sports a pair of headphones tucked over her ears as she strolls thought the mallee.
The tone of the text is affectionately tongue in cheek as it moulds the traditional characters into well know Australian stereotypes and narrates the story in rhyming couplets with astute and clever use of language.
The artwork also uses a light touch that captures the tone of the written text. The approach the whole text takes makes it entertaining for diverse ages. The very young will enjoy the flow of the language and the artwork, while older readers will appreciate the adaptions to the Australian context. Suitable for 3-8 years.
reviewed by Sue Clancy
