The illustrations in this graphic novel/extended picture book are breathtakingly beautiful: dark, atmospheric and enchanting. While the story pulled me in and kept me engaged throughout, unfortunately, I found the ending a little flat. The Little Red Wolf became a bit player from the moment she was captured, and the way the "real" story of the woodsman, his wife and the little girl was revealed felt a little flat, making the ending less satisfactory than I would have hoped. I am still grateful for the opportunity to read this gorgeous book.

I found this reimagining of ‘The Little Red Riding Hood’ enjoyable primarily because of the gorgeous artwork. The story didn’t resonate with me, but the beauty of the illustrations left a lasting impression. I would love to read more books illustrated by this artist.

The Little Red Wolf by Amelie Flechais
Thank you Oni Press for providing an e-copy through NetGalley.
Rating: 4.5

This lovely picture book retells the classic story of Little Red Riding Hood, but with a twist: The wolf and the humans switch roles. The little red wolf who lives in an enchanted forest must deliver rabbits to his grandmother, but before taking off, is warned to beware of the hunter and his human daughter. Accompanied by lush art that captures both the whimsy of nature and the dread of winter, The Little Red Wolf tells a subversive story of trusting strangers and supporting family that will both charm and haunt readers with its collage-like imagery, color schemes, and textured details. This is definitely a darker version of the fairytale, with themes of horror, betrayal, and loss in the second half, so I would recommend this to older kids who can handle it.

Review date: October 10, 2023

The Little Red Wolf is a twist on the classics red ridding hood fairy tail with the wolf as the protagonist in the distinctive red cape. When the little wolf goes on a trip through the forest to take a bunny to his grandmother, he becomes lost. A little girl appears and offers help, but she may not be who she seems.

The storybook illustrations are lovely and just a little bit haunting. I appreciated the simplicity of the story, while still allowing the readers to feel the little wolf’s joys and fears. And I always like a well-written fairytale twist.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Oni Press for this arc!

5/5 stars!

I loved this twist on little red riding hood, it was well written and so dark! Might be a little too scary for younger ones, but if they are the kind of kid who likes creepy spooky stories this would definitely be for them! The art in this is just stunning, reminds me a lot of Cartoon Saloon's WolfWalkers, one of my favourite movies! Less the wolf design and more the ethereal settings.

A wonderful book that reverses the roles in the classic tale of Little Red Riding Hood. As a reader, it was a realisation of how much the narrative perspective determines right and wrong, as we have already seen in the Hungarian tale "Vuk". It is natural for animals living their daily lives to fear the humans who hunt them. Beyond this brilliant thought experiment, the drawing is also magical, I was completely captivated by the portrayal of the forest. I also really liked the contrast in the colours of the animals and the people. If you like fairy tale adaptations or artful illustrations, this is the book for you. You will not be disappointed.

cute and nostalgic, took me back to my childhood
thank you netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review

Little Red Wolf is a very touching story spun off the little red riding hood. In this tale, the protagonist is a wolf pup who is always dressed in red. When he is asked to deliver a rabbit to his old grandmother, he wanders off the trail and meets a human girl. The story does a different take on the fairy tale and makes us empathize with the wild animals. I liked the message. The ending was deep and unexpected. The art is brilliant. It made me feel as if I was in a beautiful forest. Highly recommended!

I enjoy fairy tale retellings and this one was haunting. From the beautiful illustrations which perfectly displayed the suspense and emotion of each scene to the surprising story, this is a retelling worth reading. I love the perspective shown here at a time when more than us being afraid of wolves, wolves have every reason to be afraid of us. A poignant point told in classic fairy tale style.

Little Red Riding Hood if it was a wolf instead of a little girl. I loved it so much. The art was perfect for its folk tale vibe. It works really well and sounded like something my papa would have told me when telling stories from his home. Excellent.

5 stars.

Who is the true monster, asks this inversion of Little Red Riding Hood, as a wolf cub tasked with going to visit his grandmother falls into a dark trap. The visuals are probably key to people's enjoyment here, fully detailed, very bleak and gloomy at times, but well worth poring over. The story is nicely pitched as well, although some may struggle to gel with it as it offers much of its core detail through two unlikely lyrical songs. But that kind of fits the purpose here, of discussing how everyone – even the evil types from fairy tale, legend and lore – all have a back story.

First, the illustrations are beautiful. The art on every page was lovely.
Second, I’m very glad I read this one alone before reading it to my kids. They would for sure have nightmares.
The story is a lovely little dark tale, but definitely only suited for certain children.

Thank you for the e arc
An adorable version of little red riding hood! I've not seen a version where it's through the wolfs tale but definitely very interesting. Fantastically dark and spooky.
Quite creepy would recommend for older children.

A really cute take on Little Red Riding Hood and I loved it! The art was just absolutely adorable and amazing (Little Red Wolf is so cute I love him), it just is a really beautiful book

Is this book for children? I really feel like it’s not meant for kids.

This was wild. Shockingly beautiful art, intriguing and gripping retelling. I enjoyed it, but it also made me sad and grossed me out. A beautiful twisted little tale.

This is a cute/dark, and unique take on the Little Red Riding Hood tale. The artwork is stunning, and so much is said without words but the expressions and colours. This was refreshing and adorable. After reading it, I'm looking forward to other works by this author. Fans of Into the Woods will definitely like this!

Such beautiful art I cannot stand it. Very cute things that are VERY SCARY. How can such adorable things be so scary? This is lovely and short, is structured like a kids book, and has simple enough concepts for maybe a middle grade reader, but I swear I am an adult and wow, what nightmares!

I highly recommend this to everyone.

This is gorgeously illustrated! The style is a perfect fit for the story. It's only a short book, but you could easily get lost for hours looking at all the small details in the illustrations.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

I personally did not really enjoy this book, I don’t like that the bulk of the story hapoens through song because I never know how to read/sing that. The illustrations were a little creepy for me as well as the story, so I’m really not sure that I would share this story with my children.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This illustrated story has a really lovely art style with mixed media artwork, though the art can sometimes be a bit cluttered, making it a bit difficult to tell what's happening on page. The book also have a lot of full-page illustrations, which don't have the same kind of impact in the ebook as the illustrations are cut in half. Also the text type is a little too small and difficult to read for my tastes.

In terms of the story, it's a take on the classic Red Riding Hood story, with an extra fable thrown-in which gets told by two different characters, giving the story two different endings. It's quite a dark take on the story but has a happy ending (at least for the wolf)