Little Red's Riding 'Hood

by Peter Stein, Chris Gall (Illustrations)

When Little Red's Granny Putt Putt gets sick, the tiny moped scooter races over the river and through the dark woods to bring her a basket of get-well goodies. But when Little Red crosses paths with Tank, the biggest, loudest, meanest machine around, that no-good monster truck has plans of his own. Why, Granny, what big wheels you have!Why, Granny, what big headlights you have!Why, Granny, what a big hood you have!From the sparkplug, creative minds of Peter Stein and Chris Gall comes a full-throttle version of the classic LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD tale that will have everyone revving for more.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fairy Tales, Transport, Trucks, Fractured Fairy Tales, Humor

40 pages, Hardcover

First published February 24, 2015

About the author

Peter Stein has been a highly successful writer, editor, designer, and art director for more than twenty years. He is the author of seven gift books, including Age Is Nothing, Attitude Is Everything and Fine Friends: A Little Book About You and Me. He lives in Petaluma, California.

Reviews

[Jenn Swanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a revamp on Little Red Riding Hood. This is the book for someone that is getting tired of princesses and little boys especially will love this book. The illustrations are amazing and the story was pretty good as well. My daughter enjoyed this book a lot. Would recommend.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute story....free book giveaway...

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this twist on the traditional Little Red Riding Hood, a scooter named Little Red takes a basket of goodies to “Granny Putt Putt”, and along the way encounters a scary Monster Truck who plays the part of the “wolf.” Basically this story is just like the traditional Little Red Riding Hood but in the form of vehicles. While I wanted to like the idea and uniqueness of this story, and it may appeal to some children more than the traditional Little Red Riding Hood, it felt like a stretch to me. The thought of vehicles “eating” other vehicles just didn’t make sense to me, and I felt it didn’t have much creativity to it. Like I mentioned, it was much like the traditional tale but with different characters. So while young boys who love cars and vehicles may enjoy this story regardless, in my opinion it fell flat. The illustrations were not particularly compelling, and I also thought it felt stereotypical with the way that the mom and grandma were pink and purple cars and the monster truck was “big and bad” with sharp teeth. Also, I didn’t like how the term “hood” was used for the neighborhood. There were other examples of what I felt was poor wording such as “too tall hill.” Overall, though some children may thoroughly enjoy this book, it is not one that I feel has much to offer in terms of literary elements or other teaching points, and I will likely not be using it. The only reason I would use it is if I needed many versions of the same story in order to teach students the concepts of compare and contrast. However, even in this case, I would likely just use different versions or use a different fairy tale.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little Red Riding Hood is retold here with an automotive theme. Little Red is a wide-eyed red scooter, the wolf is a monster truck named Tank, and Granny is a bright pink golf cart. The story premise is the same: Little Red must take some auto supplies to Granny, who is “exhausted”; he encounters Tank along the way, who diverts Little Red to the auto supply store, and, well, you know the rest… The ensuing chase between Little Red and Tank sends Tank hurtling over a guardrail, expelling Granny from his hood and landing in the junkyard. Little Red and Granny live happily ever after and Tank spends the rest of his days as a traffic bot. There are loads of automotive jokes, puns and wordplay. The text features lots of bolded, oversized words and numerous examples of onomatopoeia, for encouraging enthusiastic read-alouds. But the vivid illustrations are the real stars of this production. Little Red’s hometown, Vroomville, is filled with businesses serving the needs of cars and trucks: “Basket of Gaskets” and “Pistons ‘n’ Things” to name a few. Little Red is disarmingly cute and Tank is scary enough, but not too scary for the intended audience. Familiarity with the original is not a requisite for enjoying this version, but it would make for some interesting comparisons between the two tales. Boys especially would enjoy this version. It’s a nice addition to the fairy tale or picture book collections in the library.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and am very happy to receive it.
This book made me smile and I would love to read it over and over, especially with the kids at the track.
It is perfect for both boys and girls from a very young age through elementary school.

Yes, the idea is based on the tale Little Red riding Hood, with a modern Cars feeling adaptation.
The illustrations are five star all the way - magnificent.
Overall construction and size of the book are excellent quality, easy for both young and old hands to hold.
A wonderful chase scene and the violence level is quite acceptable.

Little Red is a scooter. He is trying to do a good thing for Big Blue Mama and check on Granny Putt Putt.
He has never been all the way to her house alone. He doesn't think twice when big old Tank, the monster truck, asks him where he is going. Tank is a good ol' boy from the 'hood. Tank tells Red to stop at the auto parts store, to buy Tank time to get to Granny's house first.

A wonderful adventure where good does triumph over mischief.

[Lynn Kidd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was privileged enough to receive this book through a Goodreads giveaway. This book is such a joy to read to my son. I love the twist that Peter Stein, the author, put on the story little red riding hood. My son truly enjoys reading this book about the little scooter. We both enjoy the illustrations as they make the so animated as it goes along with the story. My son is just a toddler now but loves trucks and everything that goes along with them. This book is now his favorite book on the shelf, I believe he even has it memorized by now.

This book is child friendly and gives a modern day twist on an old story. Kids of all ages will appreciate the telling of Little Red and meanest monster truck Tank.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Little Red loved riding around his 'hood."

When Granny Putt Putt is feeling under the weather, his mother asks Little Red to take her a basket of goodies. And then he encounters Tank, King of the Road, a monster truck at the top of Too Tall Hill. Tank sends Little Red to Zip's Auto Bonanza for better goodies and then heads to Granny Putt Putt's house himself. "What big wheels you have.", "What big headlights you have," etc. When Tank comes after Little Red, it's his knowledge of his 'hood that saves him.

Clever idea. The illustrations are vibrant and eye-catching. This should be popular with little car enthusiasts.

[Jtimko · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this fractured fairy tale, the characters are portrayed as Little Red the scooter, Granny Putt Putt the golf cart, and Tank the monster truck. After Little Red reaches Granny’s house and discovers that Tank has devoured Granny Putt Putt, he leads him a on a rollicking chase that ends as Truck crashes and becomes a traffic cop.
There is plenty of action in this amusing take-off of a classic fairy tale that is sure to entertain young and old. Look out for the tongue in cheek humor and bright colorful graphics in this hilarious book. This would be a perfect addition to the elementary library. Recommended for grades pre-school through grade 2.

[RLL22016_Antoinette Jernegons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good book and I especially like the twist with the character being 'Trucks, Cars and Scooter'. The story had the same story line of 'Little Rid Riding Hood' but the twist was The scooter was 'Little Red', the truck was 'The Bad Wolf' and the car was 'Grandma" and Little Red took grandma some oil and wiper fluid as treats. When I read the original book in my classroom the boys wouldn't sit still compared to the girls. But, when I read the book 'Little Red's Riding' Hood' the boys was very attentive and I believe it was because of the twist. I recommend that all Teachers read this book in their classroom, they will have plenty of observation.

[Brenda Kahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a fun book to add to a fractured fairy tale unit. In this zany telling, Little Red is a zippy little boy scooter and his granny, a pink golf cart, lives in the woods. Little Red is on his way to bring his basket of goodies when he encounters Tank, a monster truck. While relatively faithful, the car jokes abound, a couple fall flat, a few are good-natured groan-inducing and the rest are clever and fun. The illustrations are peppy and include lots of visual jokes, such as "Skid's Brake Repair" and "The Lug Nut Lounge."

[Alicia Justice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little Red's Riding' Hood is one of the cutest re-tellings of Little Red Riding Hood that I have ever seen. It's also one of the best I've seen geared toward little boys. Usually all I see if the story being told and geared toward little girls. I'm loving all the re-tellings that I've been saying lately and it's always great to get another take on a story we've all heard a thousand times.

To read more of my reviewCLICK HERE

[Chandler Jordahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This picture book is the story of Little Red Riding Hood, automobile style! Little Red, the scooter, is nervous about driving to Granny's alone for the first time. The Big Bad Monster Truck does not help his fears! A cute version of a classic fairy tale that is sure to appeal to some young boys (or girls) out there who are stuck in the truck stage of their life!

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obviously another take on Little Red Riding Hood with a few minor changes - Red is a boy and a scooter, the big bad wolf is a tank, and granny is a golf cart. It's a fun little twist and a cute story.

[AMY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Boys will love this new version of Red Riding Hood with cards and vehicles. A big monster tank was playing the wolf part as Little Red scooter makes his way to Granny Putt Putt's garage. There are lots of funny parts and the plot moves quickly. Highly recommended for Grades 2-3.

[Lindsey Hulsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cute book for boys. Girls will enjoy too but can keep boys interested instead of reading the original "little red". Funny book with good pictures.

[Theresa Grissom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute! Kids at school are going to love this.

[Chris Hays · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fractured fairy tale with some puns added in. The artwork will make this a winner with the students, but it is not a high priority buy.

[Carolanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the twist of this version - all the automotive references - "something felt out of alignment" when Little Red goes to visit Granny Putt Putt - too funny!

[Rebecca Grabill · Rating 5 out of 5]

So... Little Red Riding Hood with trucks including a wolfish wolf truck! Seriously what’s not to love here? A super creative mash-up. Something every parent, reader, author will enjoy.

[Neha Thakkar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful for fans of Cars and Airplanes (the movies and the items)! Loved the similarities to the original and the illustrations! Would be great for a fairy tale unit.

[Daija · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is for children. The key topic is to show not to trust strangers, and not to hang around people who are mean to you. This story is just like the Little Red Riding Hood story but it’s with trucks. The monster truck (Tank) was always mean to Little Red and one day he was nice. Then after being nice he ended up being mean again and tried to attack Little Red when Little Red wasn’t expecting it. I rate this book a 5/5 because it’s something kids would enjoy because they love trucks. It also shows them to always be aware of your surroundings and to not always trust people who aren’t nice to you.

[Jana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bold, colorful illustrations and clever, car-related text work together to make a cute twist on a favorite fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood. Young car enthusiasts will enjoy reading about Little Scooter's trip to take care of Grandma Putt Putt and his heroics when Tank tries to make a meal out of the both of them. It's always fun to have fractured fairy tales around and compare them to the original, and this version should definitely have a place in the collection.

[Travis Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. Copyright 2015. Favorite part was the monster truck trying to pose as the grandmother. A fun twist on the traditional story of little red riding hood. Would recommend it to a student that enjoys cars but not fairy tales.

[Cassie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun story!

[Lee Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't bring myself to enjoy many retellings starring automobiles. 2/5 stars.

[Katherine Decker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute truck take on a classic

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

For creativity

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

The tale of Little Red Riding Hood portrayed by vehicles (and Little Red is a boy in this version).

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this fractured fairy tale based on a much familiar cautionary story, Little Red is a moped. With Granny Putt Putt feeling under the weather--after all, as Mama tells him, "Her oil is muddy, her exhaust pipe's exhausted, and her wiper fluid is wiped out" (unpaged), and she is sorely in need to some TLC. Little Red heads off to her place, but along the way, he encounters a very wolfish-looking Tank who sends him off on a detour. By the time Little Red arrives, he finds a very different Granny than he's used to. But all the wheels in his head are turning just fine, and he ends up leading Tank on a chase away from Granny's house. Teachers may want to share this version of the classic "Little Red Riding Hood" right after reading the original one so that students can spot the similarities and differences. The brightly colored digital illustrations feature several points of visual humor while the text also brims with clever word play, all associated with vehicles and intended to entertain readers while delivering a message about how the little guy outsmarts the bigger one.

[Kristi Betts · Rating 3 out of 5]

The end papers are similar to what you would expect from a Red Riding Hood story, but the wolf is now a monster truck named Tank and Little Red is a scooter. Both characters appear on the front end papers, but only Little Red is on the back end papers. The absence of Tank on the back papers sends the message to the read of the happy ending since Little Red is headed back home from Granny Putt Putt's house.

I am not a car fanatic, but I believe young children, especially boys will find this new version of Little Red Riding Hood fun to read and listen to during story time. The author was very creative in building the text around the scooter, cars, and monster truck. At times it feels like a stretch when reading, but this is to be expected in a fairy tale. I was delightfully surprised to see how "the wolf" was recycled in the end. Definitely an unusual twist to the classic Red tale.