Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion by Alex T Smith
| Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion by Alex T Smith | |
|
| |
| Category: For Sharing | |
| |
Reviewer: Anne Thompson
 | |
| Summary: The much loved fairy tale is told with a twist in this vibrant and amusing picture book. Our fearless heroine goes on an African safari and is more than a match for the villain of the story. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: May 2015 |
| Publisher: Scholastic Press | |
| ISBN: 978-1407143903 | |
|
Share on: | |
|
| |
Little Red is a caring little girl and when she discovers that her Auntie Rosie is unwell and covered in spots she immediately sets off with her basket packed, ready to help. However as she makes her way through the African landscape, meeting a variety of animals on the way, little does she know that lurking in the trees is a lion. A very hungry lion. A very hungry lion with a very naughty plan.
This gorgeous picture book by Alex T Smith is visually stunning. The brightly coloured and golden embossed cover begs to be picked up and opened. We are introduced to the two characters before the story itself starts and therefore the scene is set and the reader, or listener, has an idea what to expect. This adds to the fun as from the start it is apparent that things may not go the lion’s way at all! On every page the vibrant colours create a sunny, warm feeling and a clever use of text, weaving around the page during Little Red’s journey, switching so the reader has to turn the page sideways to look in the lion’s mouth and the changes to the font at certain points add to the joy of reading this aloud. The lion’s mouth double page spread resulted in a loud Yuk from the children listening to me when I tried this out in the school library.
There is so much to look at in the pictures that an immediate re-read to check on what you may have missed is recommended. There are some simply delightful touches to share with young children. My particular favourites included the snorkelling hippos and the crocodile enjoying a cup of tea. Of course any African All you need General Store simply has to have fresh doughnuts! One particularly thoughtful and lovely image is the bespectacled giraffe, a picture that small children who wear glasses may find appealing. The ending is very well done with the naughty lion being unsuccessful and the situation resolved over shared doughnuts, although the final page suggests that the lion may be prone to the occasional lapse into bad behaviour!
This is an utterly delightful book. Alex T Smith can be relied upon to create picture books that are filled with stunning artwork and humour but it is the warmth and good natured joy of his books that give them that little extra. It is something that young children appear to appreciate without realising why or how this works but I know that they will always be a hit during story time in the library. I am delighted that this latest offering worked its magic too. Thank you to the people at Scholastic for providing this review copy.
If you would like to try another alternative version of Little Red Riding Hood we can also recommend the picture book Red Riding Hood and the Sweet Little Wolf by Rachael Mortimer and Liz Pichon.
Please share on: 
Facebook, 
Twitter and
Instagram
You can read more book reviews or buy Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion by Alex T Smith at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion by Alex T Smith at Amazon.com.
Comments
Like to comment on this review?
Just send us an email and we'll put the best up on the site.
