Isabel & The Hungry Coyote:Isa

by Keith Polette

A little girl is on her way to Grandma's house. The Southwestern dessert is the unlikely setting for the retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. Story told in English with Spanish

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Folk Tales

Paperback

First published June 1, 2004

Reviews

[Ellon · Rating 2 out of 5]

A retelling of Little Red Riding Hood with a Spanish flare. The author made it a little less scary for children by not having the grandmother or little girl being eaten by the coyote and also not killing the coyote in the end. It was cute how Isabel bested the coyote in this version. My kindergarten students had a little trouble remembering details from this story.

[Bonnie Lambourn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful retelling of Little Red Riding Hood set in the American Southwest with Isabel carrying spicy tamales and chili sauce to her grandma. today it would surely include some Spanish words here and there. Perhaps the famous questions to the wolf by Isabel [the girl in this version] would be reworded instead of straight from the original Riding Hood version. I personally think these things would add more flavor to an already strong picture book, but as it was published 16 years ago did a great presentation for its time.

The artwork is highly textured and almost difficult to see close up, but the large format [not oversized classroom, just large] with this art is perfect for reading aloud and sharing to a small class. The illustrator employed landscapes, colors of American Southwest and adapted from traditional Native patterns to create frames for the story pages. The characters' expressions are easy to read and create a lot of the drama for the reader / listener.

What is best about this version is how clever Isabel is when the danger comes to suddenly recall and use information - learned from the wolf himself - to trick him, save herself and her grandma. Various elements make this version much more age friendly than the original version.
No hunters, no guns, no hitting, no eating grandma, no live body nonsense coming out of the wolf's body. Instead, Isabel shows foresight in protecting herself with spicy food, her grandmother supports her good job in protecting herself, trusts and believes her, and happily makes more food. Children need to know they will be trusted no matter what, supported, fed, and loved. And that even if they took care of themselves this time, Grandma was just around the bend, on her way to help if needed.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book found in the Tumbleweed section of the online library. It is a retelling of the story of Little Red Riding hood. It takes place in the Southwest part of the United States. Little Red has tamales and hot sauce in her basket, that she is taking to grandma's house. I enjoyed this retelling of the fairy tell.

[Bernice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great multicultural book written in English, but integrating Spanish words. It does this is such a clear and understandable way for all readers that may or may not know Spanish. The story takes place in a desert and combines things that may be present in this area. It is lighthearted and humorous in the way Little Red in the story tricks the coyote (instead of wolf). :) I really enjoyed how this story does not stray from the original tale, but smoothly adds in its own character to make it even better!

The story is about a little girl that is confronted by a coyote. If foreshadows a bit, when the coyote mentions how the tamales and chile that she is bringing to grandma makes his mouth burn. We see later after coyote tries to pretend to be grandma that this is exactly what little red riding hood uses to get away from the coyote!

[Melinda Garman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fiction book is a spin of “Little Red Riding Hood” set in the Chihuahua Desert of Southwest America. I do not feel this book specifically targets a particular group but rather gives children who speak English an introduction to Spanish words. To Spanish speaking children it gives them a chance to hear a bilingual version of “Little Red Riding Hood” and allows them to grow both their primary and secondary language. Spanish words are introduced slowly and obviously and build through the book. Spanish words are highlighted in red and then immediately explained in English. The book has beautiful, colorful illustrations to engage young readers and an English/Spanish vocabulary page at the end of the book.

[Helen Kumpel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is for: ESOL students, PreK-5
Reflection:
This fiction book is a spin of “Little Red Riding Hood” set in the Chihuahua Desert of Southwest America. I do not feel this book specifically targets a particular group but rather gives children who speak English an introduction to Spanish words. To Spanish speaking children it gives them a chance to hear a bilingual version of “Little Red Riding Hood” and allows them to grow both their primary and secondary language. Spanish words are introduced slowly and obviously and build through the book. Spanish words are highlighted in red and then immediately explained in English. The book has beautiful, colorful illustrations to engage young readers and an English/Spanish vocabulary page at the end of the book.

[Turrean · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice variant of the Red Riding Hood tale. But buy the bilingual version--which is what I thought I was buying! I can't believe the publisher thought we needed a whole separate English-only version. The "bilingual" version is still mostly English, but sprinkles a few Spanish terms throughout. Hearing Isabel address the villain as "Señor Coyote," especially given the setting of the story, is far more fun than the flat "Mister Coyote."

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It Little Red Riding Hood but from a different culture. Its cute and follows the same lines except...well you will have to read it. What a great cultural book. I love the book uses English and Spanish, the glossary helps you to know what the words mean and generally you can gather what they are just by reading the story. LOVE!

[Turrean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice variant of the Red Riding Hood tale, featuring a doughty red-clad heroine. If you purchase it, be sure you're getting this nice version with Spanish terms embedded in the text. The publisher has also put out an English-only version, which is nowhere near as much fun.

[Ellie Cassidy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mrs. Cassidy's first graders loved this story. We liked the details in the illustrations. We also liked how the coyote howled when the little girl dumps her tamales and hot sauce. We think you should read this story especially if you liked Little Red Riding Hood.

[Zonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Southwestern version of Little Red Riding Hood with Spanish words thrown in.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It Little Red Riding Hood but from a different culture. Its cute and follows the same lines except...well you will have to read it. What a great cultural book. LOVE!

[Brooke Elden]

An American southwestern/mexican retelling