Quirky Fun in Little Red Gliding Hood by Tara Lazar ~ Mira Reisberg

By Mira Reisberg
If you don't know Tara Lazar, you should. She's the warm, funny, ultra-talented founder of Picture Book Idea Month (PiBoIdMo) and the author of some wonderful picture books. I love all of Tara's books but am especially sweet on Little Red Gliding Hood, written by Tara and illustrated by Troy Cummings. It's a fun fractured fairy tale that swizzles and twizzles its way through the enchanted forest as it follows the story of Little Red. Tara references the traditional Red Riding Hood story while making it completely fresh and new, weaving twists and turns throughout this quirky book. As Little Red glides throughout her adventures, she encounters no less than eighteen fairy tale and nursery rhyme characters, all true to character with cleverly incorporated surprises!
 
Little Red skates to her Grandma’s house every Sunday, but her skates are “worn-in and worn-out, no longer snow white, and a little too tight.” Unless she can figure out a way to get some new skates she won’t be able to visit her Grandma anymore!

Oh slippery slush! There's a pairs skating competition, and the prize is, you guessed it, a pair of brand new skates! Little Red needs to find a partner, but everyone she knows is already paired up. She rushes to Grandma’s to get some advice and ultimately finds an unlikely skating partner. But, will they be able to win the competition?
 
Troy Cummings’ brightly colored illustrations add to the humor and magic of Little Red’s story. His cartoonish interpretations play up the wackiness of the story, while simultaneously tying everything – characters from different stories and lands – into one sweet and hilarious whole. The detailed facial expressions and costuming of each character are enough to make a reader laugh on their own! His choice of bold pastel colors creates an enchanting winter setting for Little Red and the Big Bad Wolf’s adventures on ice.
 
Little Red Gliding Hood is a fun adventure that turns familiar stories on their heads.
If you're up for it, here's our slightly over 6 minute review with some peeks at the illustrations and a bit more about the underlying meanings.

Here are a few more of Tara's books.
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Please show Tara and us some love by commenting below and sharing :)

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