Cover Image: The Little Red Wolf

The Little Red Wolf

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

This is a smart little book. Beautifully illustrated, it tells the tale of the Litlle Red Wolf. The familiarity of the name is not coincidental. It's a retelling of the well-known tale about Little Red Riding Hood. I liked this graphic novel because it really makes you think about who's good, who's bad and the nature of misunderstanding.
Would buy it for all the kids I know. Though it should come with a little warning: this book is really creepy and dark at times.

Was this review helpful?

I thought that the artwork in this Red Riding Hood retelling was gorgeous and whimsical. I also like the way in which the role-reversal of humans and wolves is food for thought about the way in which biases impact the way that we think about things. It also introduces the idea that the history tends to morph over time, and that the "truth" is often different from different perspectives, especially if it's an account that is passed down to uphold and/or pass on prejudice.

Was this review helpful?

The Little Red Wolf is by Amélie Fléchais. Her beautiful illustrations really bring the story to life. As I read the book I often found myself just admiring the gorgeous artwork. The colors are so bright and intense, you can really get lost in their beauty.

The story is a fairy tale, a sort of twist on Little Red Riding Hood. In this version, a little wolf who always wears a red cape is the main character. The story follows him as he travels through the woods to his grandma's house.

I read this with my two-year-old niece, she loved the illustrations (especially all the animals). I'm going to have to put this on my to buy list, I would love a physical copy to read with my niece.

Was this review helpful?

The artwork and the story has won my heart. I loved the illustrations. The story shows us the different perspectives of an incident. How people perceive things and how that affects their intentions and actions and finally their life. The story is beautifully presented and artwork adds an interesting touch to our imagination. I love the world our Little Red Wolf lives in.

The color variations in illustrations shown for the same story line one from the "Blonde Girl's" perspective and the other one from "Father Wolf" about the beautiful/strange young woman pleasantly surprises us and shows us the difference in the perspectives.

Was this review helpful?

I would rate this book 3.5 stars. It was gorgeous reimagining of a classic tale. The story flowed well and followed the whimsical writing style that all children's classic books do. It has a great message that is portrayed through the eyes of a sweet little wolf with a red coat.

Was this review helpful?

This is a beautiful role reversal of an ever loved fairytale. The wolf and red riding hood switch roles in this picture book. The pictures in this book are simply gorgeous but also dark and eerie in their own way. Follow the little red wolf’s journey to visit his granny and avoid the hunters daughter with beautiful prose and enchanting pictures.

Was this review helpful?

The art in this book is absolutely amazing. I was a little surprised when such cute little bunnies were obviously food and had to reconsider the age group I thought this book was for. The tale gets darker as it progresses, so I wouldn't recommend this for young readers. It reminds me of something that Neil Gaiman would write.

Was this review helpful?

An absolutely stunning book, both in art and narrative. Acting as a sort of reverse Red Riding Hood, this gem packs a punch with its ending, giving purpose and drive to its story. I would own this for the art alone, but its message about unhealthy fear takes it to another level.

Was this review helpful?

The Little Red Wolf was such a wonderful little book! It was a surprising and a little spooky, yet endearing retelling of The Little Red Riding Hood, and I loved it.

What initially piqued my interest was the promise of a unique retelling, and it definitely didn't disappoint in this area. It's one of the "what if" scenarios in which the wolves become prey and the humans are predators and I really enjoyed all the new elements of the story. I think that the idea is absolutely brilliant and would give a chance for a lot of important debates.

As this book is targeted at children, the writing is simple but the story is very engaging, preserving the tension till the very end. The tale is accompanied by the illustrations that really make the story come alive. The colours, the artist's style and techniques used are all truly gorgeous! I read a decent amount of graphics novels and illustrated stories now, and the art in The Little Red Wolf is definitely one of my favourite and most beautiful I've ever seen. I really liked how they changed with the mood and the artist carefully crafted even the smallest details. It was a true feast for the eye, and I can imagine that the printed copy would look even better.

In short, The Little Red Wolf by Amelie Flechais is a unique and thought-provoking retelling of the Little Red Riding Hood fairytale that will be a wonderful addition to any bookshelf.

Was this review helpful?

The illustrations in this book are magical. The storyline is so typically fairytale like with a gorgeously penned moral at the end. The twist to the original story is wonderful and I just love it so much.

This is what modern fairytales should be like. Not this silly mojo where everyone gets a happy ending.

The illustrations are so fantastically beautiful. I spent so long reading this book just cos I was enjoying all the extra creatures and the backgrounds and just how damn adorable that wolf in the red cape is.

And I truly adore this retelling. Every story has two sides. Brilliant moral basis. Brilliantly executed.

The magic exudes from this book while still seeming completely grounded and relevant. A fantastic read, even for an old grump like me. 138% will buy it if I see it in a store.

Was this review helpful?

The Little Red Wolf, already forgetting the danger, made his way through the forest without a care in the world, slowly straying further and further away from the trail…

A beautifully-illustrated alternative version of the fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood – the author and illustrator notes that it is ‘loosely-inspired by’ Charles Perrault’s story.
In this story we meet a family of wolves and follow the youngest wolf, Little Red, as he sets off to bring a rabbit to his poorly grandmother. But the wonders of nature are too distracting and he wanders off the path. I loved the whimsical artwork showing his child-like wonder in the animals, plants and weather around him.
Little Red’s mother has warned him to stay away from humans, dreadful creatures he knows only from stories. Yet, when he gets lost, a kind little girl offers to help him out of his predicament….
This is a winner in many ways – beautiful, atmospheric illustrations and a number of twists to the original tale which would make for good discussion matter.
Some of the illustrations and discussions are quite dark so I would advise reading it in advance if you have a particularly sensitive child. However, I would use it in my Year 3 (Age 7-8) classroom alongside looking at lots of different versions of Little Red Riding Hood, an activity which causes children to become more analytical and critical of what they are reading – is any one version the only true version?

“Are you coming? The rabbits are inside!”
The little red wolf trembled, without knowing entirely why, but he listened to her and followed her into the somber home.

What I liked: Love, love, love the artwork – so effective in creating an atmosphere and really draws you into the story. I also like seeing more that has been translated from another language – more of this please publishers! I liked how we are given two versions of the song – from the point of view of the girl and the point of view of the wolves.

Even better if:  I would have liked to see the Little Red Wolf’s reaction to the two different versions of the story…and find out what happened to the hunter and his daughter!

How you could use it in your classroom: Discussing versions of fairytales – there are hundreds of Little Red Riding Hood. Why do stories like this exist in different versions all around the world? What is the same and what is different based on the version you know? What is the impact of the illustrations on the mood in the story?
My class have just spent some time looking at different versions of Little Red Riding Hood, before creating their own and it has been fascinating – I have seen them create some powerful drama, make passionate arguments and create effective, polished writing.

See this review on my blog, complete with pictures: https://chrikarublog.wordpress.com/2017/10/28/book-review-little-red-wolf (Live on 28th October 2017)

Was this review helpful?

A beautiful new angle on an old tale. The art is absolutely gorgeous and the story itself, while told very simply, is dark and surprising.

Was this review helpful?

Wow! This was so beautiful it took my breath away. The illustrations are calm but also thrilling. The story is cute but also serious. I need to own a copy of this...

Was this review helpful?

It was great to read the story to my young one. Wonderful illustrations.......

Was this review helpful?

Stunning illustrations, really beautiful, and a very sweet twist on the standard fairy tale

Was this review helpful?

Wonderful retelling of Little Red Riding Hood with a twist to the story. Beautiful pictures, beautiful story.

Was this review helpful?

2.5 The illustrations were charming, but the story felt unfinished and the big moment was utterly predictable. On the other hand, the book subject is too dark (there are dead wolves, eaten alive rabbits, blood and even murder) but I think that it tried too hard to be dark and didn't focus enough on the story. How did the wolf's father know where to search for him?

Even a little child aged 3 could predict some of the things that happened here. So, even if it was meant as a retelling of the well-known story, there are some really great things in that one that are left out here. Rather, this is an attempt into gothic storytelling, obviously meant to feel haunting and unfinished, but I dare say some more work on the plot would do it better.

ARC from NetGalley, thank you kindly.

Was this review helpful?

This is only a very short book, so the review will be short too. It's based on the fairytale Little Red Riding Hood (as you may have guessed from the title). It's a beautifully illustrated novel, with a really sweet message about love and friendship between humans and animals.

It follows a similar story to the original fairytale, but where the child captures the little wolf while he is delivering a rabbit to his hungry old grandmother. The child sings a song, which is gorgeously illustrated by Fléchais, which tells the tale of a woman and man falling in love, but the man then losing his wife to wolves. This, she says, is why her and her father hunt and kill wolves - because they are evil beasts that bring nothing but pain.

The little red wolf's father comes to the rescue - without killing the girl or her father - and tells his son about the version of the song he knows - where the woman is friends with the wolves, weaving them capes (like the one the little red wolf wears) and the man accidentally shoots her himself. I found this to be really quite touching, and I really did like this interpretation of the fairytale.

I don't think the chapters were necessary for such a short book - they didn't mark the end of a "chapter" in any way for me, but just felt like they'd been randomly placed throughout the story.

Overall, this is definitely a lovely story for children to read, even if it is a little sad. The art was really lovely, and it told the story beautifully. 4 stars.

Was this review helpful?

I love fairytale retellings and so this book immediately caught my eye on NetGalley. Its a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood but it focuses on a cute little wolf instead of Red. First of all, the artwork is absolutely stunning. In my opinion, everything about the art is perfection and I especially loved the colours that were used throughout. The story itself is very good, I really enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend this to both adults and kids and I would read more from Amélie Fléchais.

*I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?