Little Red Rhyming Hood

by Sue Fliess, Petros Bouloubasis (Illustrations)

Can a bully become a friend?

Because Little Red only speaks in verse, it's tough for her to make friends. The schoolyard bully, Big Brad Wolf, is always picking on her. One day, her grandma shows her a flyer for a poetry contest, and Little Red thinks it could be her big chance to make a friend. But on the day of the contest, Big Brad Wolf sneaks up on Little Red and scares the rhyme right out of her―and into him! How will they rhyme their way out of this dilemma?

Genres: Picture Books, Poetry, Fairy Tales, Friendship, Childrens, Writing, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

Sue Fliess ("fleece") is the bestselling author of Robots, Robots Everywhere!, I'm a Ballerina! and How to Trap a Leprechaun, and more than 35 other children's books including Sadie Sprocket Builds a Rocket, Mrs. Claus Takes the Reins, Mary Had a Little Lab, Beatrice Bly's Rules for Spies, and many Little Golden Books. Her books have sold over 850,000 copies worldwide. Her background is in copywriting and PR/marketing, and her essays have appeared in O Magazine, HuffPo, Writer's Digest, and more. Fliess has also written for Walt Disney.

Her books have received honors from the SCBWI, have been used in school curricula, museum educational programs, and have even been translated into multiple languages. The Bug Book was chosen for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library three years in a row and The Hug Book was selected to the Imagination Library Australia.

She's a member of SCBWI, Children's Book Guild of DC, and the Author's Guild. She does book signings, school visits, and speaking engagements.

When she's not writing, she is walking her two silly English Labradors or busy with her two teen boys. She really misses traveling. Sue lives in Northern VA with her family. Visit her at www.suefliess.com.

Reviews

[La Coccinelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute take on the story of Little Red Riding Hood, featuring a little girl in a red hoodie who can't stop rhyming and a bully named Big Brad Wolf. Brad torments Little Red every day, but she tries to ignore him... until one day, he scares the rhymes right out of her and into him! It's the day of the big poetry contest, too. Brad is freaked out by speaking in rhyme, so Little Red agrees to try to help him.

I quite liked this book, except for one line that sort of implies that boys are mean to girls because they like them. It's time we get rid of that dangerous idea. Other than that, though, the story is cute and the illustrations are pleasant. I enjoyed the twists on the classic story (especially with the grandmother and her red hoodie). The rhymes and prose are pretty solid, too. So, overall, I would recommend this one, with just slight reservations. (Yes, Brad does eventually learn he doesn't have to scare a girl to be close to her, but the fact that the book gets a little close to the old "boys will be boys" stereotype makes me a little uncomfortable.)

Quotable moment:

[Kayla Angeletti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book! This was the fairytale of little red riding hood but with a twist! I had never even heard of this book and I ended up enjoying it. This book was about a girl who wore a red hoodie,which her grandma made, and always rhymed, which was how she got her name. The bad guy in the story is named Big Brad Wolf and he would always bully her until one day he scared her and she couldn’t rhyme anymore but he could. Little Red was having a contest that night so her and Big Brad wolf ended up rhyming together and winning. After that they became friends and ended up writing poems together in the park. I loved this version of the story and would recommend it to others!

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a little girl with a natural gift for rhyming is teased by a playground bully, Big Brad Wolf, she confides in her grandma that she longs to talk the everyone else does. Grandma boosts her spirits with a red hoodie and news of a poetry contest. With new-found confidence, Little Red embravces her talent and her new nickname, Little Red Rhyming Hood. She gnores the taunts of Big Brad Wolf.
She hopes to make some friends at the poetry event, but...
Brad finally manages to startle her, and when he does- he scares the rhyming right out of her! In an ironic twist of fate, Brad is
suddenly "stuck" in rhyming mode while Red is not, leaving them both unhappy. Red is unable to enter the poetry contest, and Brad is miserable, demanding help. In the process, they discover they can alternate lines and rhyme together. As a rhyming team they win first prize, and find themselves actually enjoying each other's company.
There's fun to be had in this clever mashup of a familiar tale, word play, and a narrative that combines prose text with intermittent rhymes- not an easy thing to pull off. Fans of the author's many other titles may wonder if there's a touch of autobiography in this latest Red character, but Fliess demonstrates that her storytelling transcends both prose and poetry.
The real strength of this book will be for readers/audiences who are familiar with the underlying, traditional folk tale, Red Riding Hood, which comes in MANY versions. There is actually a concern that many children today are growing up without hearing/reading these previously ubiquitous tales.

[Juliana Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Red only spoke in rhyme. Mean Brad Wolf teased her every day, but Little Red tried not to let it get to her. Instead she signed up for a poetry contest. The day before the contest, Little Red was so engrossed in her rhyming notebook that she didn't see Brad hiding behind the bushes. Brad jumped out and scared the rhyme right out of her... and into him! Now Red couldn't rhyme and Brad couldn't stop. They had to work together to fix the mix-up and ended up writing poetry for two. Together, Little Red and Brad Wolf won the poetry contest and continued to be best rhyming partners!

[Elizabeth Mellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute addition to our Little Red Riding Hood unit study, this helped reinforce rhyming. I didn't love that it seemed like the bully was given excuses (like wanting attention and being mean to get it), but it was nice to have a pleasant resolution (instead of someone getting eaten) and the work together to make rhymes was fun. Really enjoyed the art style, and would definitely recommend to someone working on teaching rhyming.

[Cynthia June Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Red Rhymin Hood (a girl who wears a red hooded sweatshirt and can only speak in rhyme) and school bully Big Brad Wolf team up for the poetry contest when Little Red passes her rhyme skill onto Brad.
A clever take on the classic story.
But a poetry contest is far less dramatic than being eaten by a wolf.
But Little Red and Big Brad learn cooperation.
Mediocre illustrations; too cartoonish for my liking.

Albert Whitman, 2019.

[Audrey | WellReadandUndead(ish) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little Red Rhyming Hood speaks in rhymes, which attracts negative attention from Big Bad Brad. Big Brad teases her and tries to scare her everyday, while Little Red takes solace in a poetry contest that she's entered in. There's an unexpected twist when Little Red loses her rhymes and Big Brad can't stop talking in rhyme. They have to work together for the contest. It's a clever play on words and is a fun way to introduce poetry to children.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute poetry book about a girl that can only speak in rhymes. This was a relatable story as the girl is in school and someone is bullying her. They teamed up and entered a rhyming contest, which resulted in them winning! A good lesson to teach students about being kind to others and of course teaching them about poetry.

Trait: Voice
ATOS: 1.2
AD340L

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story about a little girl who rhymed everything (a bit like rap) who is entering a poetry contest and a bully. He scares the rhyme out her and into him. So she enlists his help to read a poem for two people telling how it all happened. They got the trophy and became friends.

I enjoyed the bright illustrations.

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this twist on the Little Red Riding Hood tale, Little Red Rhyming Hood always speaks in rhyme, and her nemesis, Big Brad Wolf, likes to tease her. But one day, he scares the rhyme out of her - right before a big poetry contest!
I really enjoyed this book. It has a sweet ending, and the rhyming main character is funny.

[Allie]

The main character has a quirk where she exclusively talks in rhyme. This book has a little bit of a bunch of things: friendship/bullying, social-emotional learning, rhyming couplets. It's cute. I was making a book bundle for the daily high five (read, write, sing, talk, play) and this was the book I grabbed for talking. Rhymers will be readers!

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars because M inexplicably loves this book. We finished reading it for the first time and she immediately said, "Let's read it again!". She's requested it every night at bedtime since the first reading.

I'm not sure if she loves it because of the rhymes or "Big Brad Wolf" or the fact that Brad jumps out and tries to scare her - but it's a big hit.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Red wears a hoodie and rhymes all the time. She's bullied for this by Brad Wolf. But when he literally scares the rhyme right out of her, it jumps to him and he rhymes everything he says! The two panic. Red has a poetry contest to participate in...can the duo pair up and work together?

[Julie Hedlund · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a rhyming book that NAILS the story in addition to the rhyme. I love the layered themes of friendship, creativity, and teamwork. Not to mention kids will love this fractured version of Little Red Riding Hood. Fun, funny, suspenseful, and heartwarming.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the illustrations and appreciated the different skin tones & hair colors. My toddlers enjoyed this book, although they don't quite understand rhyming yet, or know the story behind little red riding hood. I bet older kids would appreciate this book better, but we enjoyed it.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice book with a good ending. A little girl can only speak in rhymes, and the class bully teases her. But what happens when Brad Wolf scares the rhyme out of Little Red Rhyming Hood and into himself? A lesson in becoming friends. I enjoyed the pictures.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little Red speaks in rhyme and that makes it difficult for her to make friends. But she'll quickly learn that rhyming can bring the most unlikely of friends together.


There is a school bully in this, and Little Red is pretty sad and lonely in the beginning.

[Kirsti Call · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super creative and fun!

[Hallie Jackson Brackett · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars.

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun twist on a classic tale.

[Elizabeth]

I liked the book, though it was difficult to read, switching back and forth from lines in rhyme to simply lines in the story (not told in rhyme). It didn't flow well.

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

In itself this is not a rhyming book, so my only complaint is that the mix of rhyming and not rhyming feels weirdly jarring.

[MeganRuth - Alohamora Open a Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little clunky at the beginning, but a school age teacher could have with this one to start a poetry unity. It was a fun retelling.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young girl who always wears a red hoodie loves to rhyme but one boy from school is constantly trying to scare her. Can they work out their differences? Elementary and up

[Care · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story with lots of good messages. Be yourself, be kind, be forgiving, have courage to be loud and expressive. Her big bully, the "wolf," becomes her closest friend and slam poetry companion.

[Rix Scarth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of lots of rhymes and then enemies joined together to put them all together into a poem.

[Tina Hoggatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever combination of rhyming and non-rhyming text that presents the conundrum of a girl who only speaks in rhyme and a boy who bullies her. Sweetly resolved.

[Margaret Boling · Rating 4 out of 5]

5/19/2020 ~ A thoroughly fun re-imagining of the Little Red tale. Bullying, redemption, rhymes the fit the story.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun twist on a classic story!

[Ellon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent story about being yourself/bullying but it falls into the cliche that many bullying books do where the victim ends up becoming friends with the bully and that’s a cliche I don’t love.