Cover Image: The Little Red Wolf

The Little Red Wolf

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

While I loved the stunning illustrations, I was disappointed with the story itself--a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood that teaches us that there are two sides to every story.

Was this review helpful?

This book is so perfect it left me speechless.
The content of this story is profound. The lessons we learn are so valid for life.
It is about the consequences of our reckless actions, revenge and the importance of knowing both sides of a story to fully understand someone.

The drawings were perfect,unbelievably wonderful.

I strongly recommend it for anyone, children, adults, everyone. It really moved me.

Thank you to the author and illustrator for creating this, the publishers and netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read such work of art.

Was this review helpful?

This is an advance review copy for which I thank the publisher.

This book is exactly what I mean when I talk about drifting off the beaten-track and making your own trail. I wish more authors would learn from the example set here by Amélie Fléchais, instead of turning-out tired cloned rip-offs of those who have gone before. In a wonderful twist on the Little Red Riding Hood story, this author has the wolf being the victim and Red Riding Hood the villain - and she makes it work!

Delivering a rabbit to his grandmother's house Little Red Wolf gets side-tracked repeatedly until he's lost! When a sweet and charming young girl offers to help him on his way, he doesn't know she means on his way to the after-life and not to his grandma's house! She's the daughter of a dreaded wolf hunter!

Full of superficially simplistic, but actually detailed and richly-colored drawings, this story follows Little Red Wolf into the gaping jaws of death! I loved its simplicity and depth, and I recommend it.

Was this review helpful?

A retelling of Little Red Riding hood but with a young wolf as the central character.

I was intrigued by the premise of this book, especially since I always love fairytale retellings, and I thought the idea of a wolf being warned not to stray lest he cross the path of human hunters was so interesting and creative. The illustrations were absolutely stunning. The watercolors allowed the images to be both ethereal and sinister as the story and the lighting changed throughout the book.

The book is quite dark, which isn't necessarily a nonstarter for children's lit (really a lot of it has some dark moments), but my issue has more to do with the ending. The book ends quite abruptly with a dark revelation. My feeling is generally that with children's lit darkness is fine as long as the ending is hopeful-- I think that still could've been achieved with this book if it had just gone on a little father, maybe following up the ednding revelation with the little wolf's return home with his father. I think the book was originally written in French and this is a translation, though, so it's possible there are some cultural differences in views on children's lit.

All in all I thought it was a beautiful book with an interesting story, but I really wish it had gone on just a little farther after the ending.

Was this review helpful?

Little Red as you have never seen before with multifaceted pedagogical and contemporary overlaps at the turn of every page. The quintessential pairing of fine crafted storytelling and 5 star illustrations that pull the entire tale together with perfection! I am in absolute awe and love with this book.

Was this review helpful?

This book had some of the best illustrations I have ever seen in a graphic novel. I loved the story too--with one exception: the rabbits that the wolves caught to eat were so adorable, that it was a visual reminder all over again that the wolves in these books are somewhat bad; although, that wasn't how the book was meant to come across. The rabbits should have looked mean; instead they came across as sweet little sleeping bunnies.

The book had a good message too which could be used to further discussions with children. The moral is to take personal responsibility instead of blaming others and going after them for something that wasn't their fault.

Was this review helpful?

The illustrations in this book are absolutely amazing. They tell a common story in a different and more enchanting way.

Was this review helpful?

arc provided by Diamond Book Distributors through Netgalley

This is the prettiest, cutest, most enchanting book I've read this year!
I honestly feel so lucky to have found this!

A little red riding hood wearing Wolf pup is tasked by his mother to bring a fat juice rabbit to his wolf grandmother who has lost her teeth, and thus is no longer able to hunt.
She warns him away from the Hunter and his daughter, and though the little Wolf promises to do so he soon finds himself distracted by the beauty of the forest, following pretty beetles, bold mice in the their underground little houses, and elusive golden clouds of pollen. Before he knows it, he finds himself quite lost...

I really cannot recommend this book enough!
From the artwork, to the lovely story, everything was amazing!
I can't wait for October to get here so I can buy it!

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y24HOQlYYm4/WZhiX7YLgNI/AAAAAAAAGjM/nBJx9ZqUXPgnjhExLXR-P7YMIHTVDOC7gCLcBGAs/s1600/1.png"

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6VKK_RW86wM/WZhifuVHJWI/AAAAAAAAGjQ/QXFw2TLbJAgBGcffLv7K8A-kmZpHAnuBACLcBGAs/s1600/2.png"

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oGQEda5NzK8/WZhikh7YogI/AAAAAAAAGjU/oNzeCaDPXeE_rnnfVa-JlBtz6wqKU_FfQCLcBGAs/s1600/3.png"

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MAqI1pG63hY/WZhipR7Q2gI/AAAAAAAAGjY/nLs6UaIjKMQpq3ZzqGYPNnK7cAVYfaVCACLcBGAs/s1600/4.png"

Was this review helpful?

I am so in love with Amélie Fléchais's artwork!
I loved "L'homme montagne" so I can't wait to read her new book!

This retelling of little red riding with a Little Red Wolf was so good ! The illustrations are gorgeous ! The story, plots and twists were surprising, in a good way !

Once again, perfect for 'Story time' with Children (8 years i will say)

Was this review helpful?

WOW. That was honestly so much better than I was expecting it to be. This was so GOOD. There wasn't a thing I didn't like about this book. The artwork took my breathe away! I loved it so much. This is a retelling of little red riding hood, and it was such an original retelling! It didn't feel like the same old story we've all heard before. Even though it was short, it still kept me guessing and surprised by what happened. I loved everything about it and if you're looking for a short, graphic, fairytale retelling, look no further. Definitely plan to buy myself a copy once it comes out!

Was this review helpful?

Adorable and slightly twisted re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood. GORGEOUS illustrations. And also dead bunnies.

Was this review helpful?

I'm having a hard time digesting exactly how I feel about this book.
The art for one, was absolutely gorgeous. The characters and creatures were all highly stylized, perfectly creating fairytale whimsy. The artist used colours and shape to their advantage to indicate changes in tone and atmosphere that mirrored the story wonderfully.
The issues I had with the book all come down to the writing. The book is a translation, and I'm not sure if its just the nature of the original text or poor translation, but the words felt clunky and was at odds with the beautifully constructed flow of the illustrations. It also felt like the story ended very abruptly. From the beginning it was building to a confrontation that took resolved both instantly and "off camera". As well there was a backstory that was mentioned in the guise of a song (which wasn't written even remotely lyrical), which isn't fleshed out in a way that was satisfying. So much more could have been done that would have given the story so much more richness.
I think this was a very unique retelling, with beautiful artwork and a promising premise that suffered from bad translation/writing. I think if the author had written it as a small graphic novel, rather than a picture book (or even a bigger picture book) this story could have been something phenomenal.

Was this review helpful?

Beautiful illustrations and a intriguing twist on Little Red Riding Hood make The Little Red Wolf a witty choice for older children.

The Little Red Wolf is given a dead rabbit by his mother to take to his grandmother's house. His mother warns him not to go near the evil humans, the hunter and his daughter.

The Little Red Wolf is in a children's picture book format rather than being a true graphic novel. The illustrations are gorgeous. However, the story is more for older children or even adults. The book is more fun when the reader is already familiar with the original Little Red Riding Hood story. There are many twists to the original tale that are much more innovative than just flipping the wolf and the child's roles.

I would recommend The Little Red Wolf to parents of children seven years old and up. I would highly recommend it to adults that like Fractured Fairytales from the Rocky & Bullwinkle show and the subsequent books.

Thanks to the publisher, Lion Forge, and netgalley for an advanced review copy of The Little Red Wolf in exchange for an honest review. This book will be published on October 3, 2017.

Was this review helpful?

I am a huge fan of alternative fairy tales, and have used them a lot in the past when asked to source books for primary/early years topics on traditional or fairy tales. I loved the look of the cover art on this book, and having done some work at degree/post grad level on Red Riding Hood in particular, I was really fascinated to read Flechais' take on the tale. I have to say that the art work was phenomenal and did not disappoint. It was mesmerising and really struck a great balance between beauty and surrealism that I found incredibly appealing. As a story to read to children however, I found the text a bit troubling. I couldn't really figure out who the author was pitching it to. Some of the narrative elements reminded me more of Angela Carter's adult re-telling of traditional tales in The Bloody Chamber than stories which were appropriate for a primary audience. It's not to say that I don't think children can't cope with dark story telling. One look at Dahl or the more contemporary David Walliams will show you they can, it's just that this seemed to send mixed messages as it ricocheted between cutesy pictures of fluffy bunnies and stories of evil, soulless girls. I wondered how, if I was reading to a young audience, I would manage the mix of messages. It wouldn't be impossible, but it would certainly open a lot of dialogue.

Was this review helpful?

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this small graphic novel. While the story was short, it was meaningful and magical; Flechais has taken the original story of The Little Red Riding Hood and made it her own by altering the story and flipping it so that the wolf is the victim rather than the human.

The artwork in this graphic novel was unlike anything I’ve EVER seen before, it was so beautiful and truly mesmerising. I absolutely adore the creator’s style of drawing! The colours and drawings were just so soft and calming on the more positive pages but still managed to convey the darker feeling of the story. It was a joy to read!

The words, while translated from French, were still poetic and almost melodic in my head, making for a very smooth read! The little wolf, our protagonist, was young, innocent and too naive to think things through but things but it’s this that has made for a great story.

While it is categorised as ‘children’s literature’, this graphic novel is great for a small pick-me-up and a quick read for anyone!

Was this review helpful?

The Little Red Wolf tells the story of a little wolf who wants to bring a rabbit to his grandmother and comes across a young girl. The young girl seems sweet and innocent, but in reality she's not. She's going to capture and kill the little wolf...

The Little Red Wolf is such a nice and enjoyable read. I really loved the way they made the graphic novel, it's drawn so beautifully! I also really like the concept: they changed it about humans hunting wolves. The story is not just the wolf being switched by the human, but there's also another twist in the story. I really liked The Little Red Wolf and I cannot wait to discover more cute graphic novels like this one!

Was this review helpful?

Originally translated from the French, I think this just might be one of those books that teachers are going to be grabbing with delight for middle school and high school classes. So many hidden messages on humanity to be found. Absolutely want to have a real copy of this gem!

Was this review helpful?

If you love fairytales and retellings you would be missing out to not grab this book. The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous and the story is so beautifully written. There are twists and surprises with a fantastic adventure to jump into. I can't wait to buy several copies as gifts!

This story isn't about a little girl traveling to her grandmother's house but rather a cute little wolf with a red hooded-cape. There is a little girl but she's rather devious! I'd love to tell more but.. no spoilers!

Warning: scary scenes for little eyes. Make sure you pre-scan first before sharing with your little one.

Was this review helpful?

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

A beautiful retelling and reversal of the Little Red Riding Hood with some new elements.

It starts off pretty much the same as the story did in Little Red Riding Hood. A little wolf with a red cape/hood has to go to his grandma to bring her a rabbit. Instead our little wolf is distracted and we see him hop and skip through beautiful landscapes, gorgeously detailed scenery, and then he gets lured by the girl he was warned about. I knew right then what was going to happen, but boy, I was in for a twist.

There is heartbreak in the future, and I didn't even know it. The hunter and the daughter were really scary people, just like the wolf was in the Little Red Riding Hood story. However, after the ending, and what was revealed there, I could only feel sympathy for both of them (with the first song I could feel some sympathy, but given that we have seen how the wolves were I wasn't sure if it was truth or fiction, and the second song changed all that). I felt sorry for the girl who doesn't know the truth, and for the man who only saw his fear and did something terrible because of it. I have to say I had a few tears in my eyes. :(

I loved our little wolf, though he has much to learn. Much, much to learn. I hope that at least this experience will make him more responsible.

The book is gorgeously illustrated, like, absolutely gorgeous. The style is so beautiful, I couldn't stop staring at the pages in wonder. There are tiny details, lovely use of colours, and just wow.

I would highly, really highly, recommend this book to everyone. This book is one that I will be buying when it comes out, I need this on my shelf, and I will keep an eye out to see if more books by this artist will get translated.

Was this review helpful?