The Horn Book Guide

PICTURE BOOKS

Gilbertsen, Neal

Little Red Snapperhood: A Fishy Fairy Tale

32 pp. | WestWinds | May, 2003 | Trade ISBN 1-55868-683-5 $$15.95 | Paper ISBN 1-55868-684-3 $$8.95

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Evon Zerbetz. Starring a red snapper and a wolf eel, this Red Riding Hood take-off reverses the traditional moral when Red, Wolf Eel, and Grandma sit down together for a meal: "Both ignorance and loathing / Can make us fear potential friends / Disguised in wolf-eel clothing." Like the handsome linoleum block prints, the rhyme has plenty of humorous touches, but the surprise ending doesn't quite make sense, even for a parody.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert