Little Red Riding Hood Retold and Illustrated by James Marshall

The classic tale of "Little Red" is not particularly one of my favorites, but James Marshall does breath some life into the story through his sense of humor and watercolor illustrations. To be completely honest, I actually prefer the story in Lon Popo more, just because the oldest girl out smarts the wolf and defeats him on her own, where as in this story Red is not only eaten, but has to be rescued by a Woodsman that just happens to be traveling by the right place at the right time. I much rather read a story about someone using their brains rather than being eaten anytime. I will say that Marshall must have had a really fun time illustrating this book. If you look closely, there is at least one cat on every page, and most of them are doing something rather amusing. Also I thought that the "after dinner mints," left next to the wolf after eating Red was a nice touch. I think if you really must read this ancient tale to children, then at least make it the one done by Marshall, because then you might have a little fun as well in the process.