Hello, friends! Our book today is Little Red Reading Hood and the Misread Wolf, written by Troy Wilson and illustrated by Ilaria Campana.

Little Red Reading Hood loves three things: reading, the color red, and the special hood her grandma made for her. She loves reading all sort of books, especially aloud to her collection of stuffed animals and woodland friends. Hearing that Grandma is under the weather, she packs a special treat and heads to her cottage in the forest, coming upon a wolf along the way (who ominously notes that he smells his favorite smell when he sees her). Using the knowledge of wild predators she’s learned from books, Red first tries to back away, then to scare off the wolf with loud noises and thrown rocks. Frustrated, the wolf runs off, but happens to hear Red mention her path to Grandma’s house to a friendly robin. And when Red arrives, she has a surprise waiting for her… but perhaps not the one she – or the reader – expects!

A clever twist on an old classic. Centered around the message of “don’t judge a book by its cover”, it also subtly encourages little ones to balance their book knowledge with real-world intuition and experience. Wolf was never a threat to Red, he only wanted to sniff her new book (who doesn’t love new book smell?) and to be read to – like her, he loves books. It’s a sweet and unexpected twist that will have kids tickled (JJ was especially fond of Wolf’s sniff-sniff-sniffing). Campana’s illustrations are lovely, crisp and colorful while evoking a touch of classic storybook nostalgia; the Wolf, slinky and full of charm, is a standout. The length was great, and we loved it – this is a fun one! Baby Bookworm approved!

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)