“The Little Red Wolf” by Amélie Fléchais - (4.5 Stars) (Pub Date:10/17/23) is a faintly dark, pointedly visceral, re-telling of The Little Red Riding Hood story, inspired by Charles Perrault where the Wolf is not cuddly but is loveable, the little girl is beautiful but is unsettling, and the facts are dependent on a full recounting of what REALLY happened.

Positives: The digital art is phenomenal, and embodies everything that e-books should strive to be. The art is what tells most of the story, sets the ‘faintly dark’ tone, and gut-punches some of the more complex emotions. This means that every reader will meet the story where they are capable of meeting it. My 12 year old daughter’s feedback is that she loved the twist on Little Red’s identity, and that the ending shows that ‘you can’t know what’s real, until you hear both sides of a story”. Final take - GORGEOUS. READ IT.

Wish List: For the format, I wish the text had been larger and more bold. But I’m old and have, what my optometrist calls, ‘mutli-focal contact needs’. For the story, I wanted a tiny bit less “rabbit nomming”, and a little more “dark-creepy-little-girl”. 12 yo - no wish list. She loved it.

As always, I appreciate the opportunity afforded me to have an early read by netgalley and Oni Press. The opinions in this review are expressly those of ButIDigressBookClub and are intended for use by my followers and friends when choosing their next book. #butidigress #butidigressbookclub #thelittleredwolf #littlered #flippedfairytales #littleredridinghood #netgalley #netgalleyreviewer #onipress #amelieflechais #arc #arcs @onipress

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Review Shared on Goodreads - www.goodreads.com/leah_cyphert_butidigressbookclub
Publishing Review 9/21/2023

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I absolutely loved this book, it shows that there’s two sides to every story and not everyone’s the monster they are made out to be. It also warns against blind rage or fear as we find out that is what caused this situation to begin with. The illustrations are also really impressive and help immerse us in the story.

This was a sweet illustrated reimagining of 'Little Red Riding Hood' that centred the wolf in the tale and altered the roles of hero and villain.

I adored the gorgeous colours and full page natural imagery that accompanied the limited wording. I especially appreciated how the colours darkened and the contents became starker as the tale turned bleaker and more grim.

The contents were suitable for all ages and would make a gorgeous story for little ones to listen to and follow along with in the illustrations, and could also be enjoyed by the reader as well.

Such a gorgeous, gorgeous read! I absolutely loved this wicked twist on Red Little Riding Hood, it was unique and pulled on my heartstrings. A perfect read for this time of year - not exactly for children, a little too chilling for that. But a great autumn read none the less!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

Super cute retelling with a twist of Little Red Riding Hood. It's a bit darker than you might expect from the cover, but in a really wonderful way. Great for anyone who loves fairy tales or fantasies, ages 10 and up.

What makes this retelling of the little red riding hood is definitely its illustrations. Each page can stand on its own when it comes to that. I also enjoy recommending these books to younger readers ready to transition into chapter books

I read this cute retelling of Little Red Riding Hood years ago in the original French, and I remember it made me laugh for how whimsy and adorable it was: a naïve wolf pup is sent by his mother to take a rabbit to his weak-toothed old grandma with a warning to not stray from the path and into the cabin of the cruel hunters living in the wood, which the wolf pup will naturally fail at, so when I saw the English translation was out, I couldn't resist revisiting it.

It stays cute, whimsical, and adorable, but somehow it reads a bit darker in English. Or perhaps it's that I'm older and more jaded now? In the original French, there was a bit of a feel that the innocence of le petit loup was the highlighted portion contrasting with the cruelty of les humains who skin wolves for their pelt; an emphasis that reminded me of that old discussion we once had over how Little Red Riding Hood contributed to the overhunting and extinction of wolves in Europe. The message was that wolves aren't the bad guys, they hunt because they need to feed themselves and their pack, and that monstrosity was human-made. It's we who hunt species to extinction, after all, not the other way round.

The English translation hasn't lost that emphasis, but rereading this story in a different language makes it feel like the monstrous part is more emphasised, even more one-dimensional. The hunter here hunts wolves not because he also needs to survive or to protect himself and his livestock but for their fur, without any indication that there's a need to make a living off of hunting as opposed to hunting for sport, and his daughter, the one that cages the little red wolf after luring him in with lies, is even worse: pure unadulterated animal cruelty. The wolf dad that plays the role of the huntsman that rescues Red Riding Hood and Granny is too good for these two.

Is this a bit too cutesy? Yes, it is, the wolves are overly whitewashed at the expense of their natural instincts: humans might be the bigger baddies, but wolves still are apex predators, let's not forget. Yet the message stands, and the call for a respectful attitude toward wolves stands too.

Incidentally, the amateur Grimmologist in me couldn't but notice that, for a French fable, Fléchais ignored the Perrault version for the Grimm one. Personally, I prefer the Perrault one because there's consequences and no happy, feel-good outcome. But it wouldn't have worked with the message this retelling is trying to convey.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A young wolf, on a journey to bring his grandmother a rabbit, is charmed by the nice little girl who offers to help him... but nice is not the same as good.

Gorgeous. Highly recommended.

A gorgeously illustrated story with a twist on the story of Little Red Riding Hood. I really enjoyed the story and how they turned the story around, but the illustrations really stole the show for me. The full-page pictures were very well done, and they included lots of little details that made it hard to move on to the next page. I think older children will enjoy the pictures, and also the story that takes the story they know and turn it around to tell a new story from a different perspective. I think the idea that you shouldn't judge people, or wolves, on first meeting comes through really well.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

I loved this! The illustrations were so neat, it reminded me a lot of the Hollow Knight game but with colors and a folklore twist to it!

The art was really good, I could follow the story from just looking at them because they were so expressive. The story itself was interesting, but not new, but the art is what really sold this. It seems more like a children's book, but a bit graphic for that. I think the simplicity in the storytelling was more detrimental than good, but not bad overall.

The art is luminous and beautiful - when not starkly disturbing. The story is very folklore dark. For a certain age and type of child this book would be well received, but for very young children, the ones I would normally read picture books to, this would not be a go to title for me. I am not a children's librarian. When I showed the art to the child's librarian of my library (the one I work in, not use) she declined to add it to her collection because she felt too many parents would possibly complain.

This felt like an old, old story - like a real fairy tale that could easily have been passed down many generations before landing in this book. Beautiful, horrifying, and tragic, and with utterly breathtaking art. This story flew by, and hurt my heart along the way. So lovely, immersive, evocative, and sad. When it ended, I wanted many more pages in this world.

Beautifully eerie short reimagined version of Little Red Riding Hood, from the perspective of wolves. People seem to often forget that "fairy tales" weren't told to be innocent and appropriate for all ages.
Sticking true to the darker themes, this story has an sad but excellent twist to how the plot plays out.
I can't get over the watercolor art and delicate font -- imagining how lovely it would be to hold in person.
Short but beautiful read, approx. 80 pages.

**Thank you to Oni Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**

The art was absolutely beautiful and I would have been happy to read even if it had not words. That being said I wasn’t a fan of the writing and found it a bit hard to read even for a children’s book.

What the heck! This graphic novel retelling is so dark! Kids might want to stay away from it but yes, adults be there if they want to read it.

Pick up this book for this Halloween. It will be worth it. Try seeing the story of Little Red Riding Hood if it’s written with a little fox in her place. And well… it’s creepy and disturbing.

I love everything about this book. So
Well
Done!

Thank you, Oni Press, for the advance reading copy.

Little Red Hood is undoubtedly one of the most eerily beautiful graphic novels I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. It was an absolute visual feast with a dark an misunderstood fairy tale at the very core that played on the themes of cruelty, grief, trust, love, and misplaced blame that can quickly turn to extremely misplaced hatred and unearned violence.

I could practically feel my pupils dilate when I first started reading. The illustrations lean heavily on a darker version of cottage core that perfectly sets the scene for this twisted tale. How quickly an honest mistake can turn into a disastrous and deadly situation.

I truly loved the experience of reading this book. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The art is this book is stunning! I initially requested this because it looked really cute, but what lies within is a much darker tale. It’s definitely a fully reimagined Red Riding Hood story, and I think this will appeal to all different types of readers. Fairytale lovers will delight in the similarities to well known stories, but they’ll also be absolutely transported by the amazing illustrations. I spent lots of time poring over the gorgeous and colorful art. This might be on the darker side for very young readers, but I would highly recommend it to most people. I will definitely be adding a copy of this to my physical shelves upon release.

Thank u netgalley for providing this arc. 3.75 stars.

The art style is so cute and unique. I love the little wolf😭😭in a red coat🥲🥲I find it interesting how the roles were reversed. This is a short, fun intro to fairytales for kids :)

I absolutely loved it! I love fairytale retellings, specially if they have a dark twist, and this graphic novel is precisely like that.

The art style is stunning and matches perfectly with the story, I couldn't put my eyes away.

Even though it's a standalone, the characters are well developed and full of layers. They got me engaged with the story and I absolutely love the protagonist (I just wanted to protect him from everyone else). Highly recommend it.