Cloaked in Red by Vivian Vande Velde

Bibliography
Velde, V.V. (2010). Cloaked in red. New York: Marshall Cavendish Children’s Books.

127 pages

Plot
A little girl cloaked in red carries a basket into the woods on her way to her grandmother’s house. However upon arriving a wolf has taken the place of her grandmother. It’s a familiar story, and one that Velde feels is initially stupid, but why do readers love the story? Perhaps if the cloak is the one with a brain or your grandmother is the wolf or the wolf is not bad at all would the story make more sense. In Cloaked in Red, Vande Velde does just that, writing eight short stories which reinvent the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood.

Review
Velde’s Cloaked in Red provides readers with eight interesting takes on the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale. Her introduction, which discusses the author’s own views on the original tale, provides readers with an insight as to why the author would choose this particular tale to recreate. The stories would have probably benefitted from a variety of authors as many of the stories had similar writing styles which seemed overused. Nevertheless, the stories do encourage readers to think beyond fairy tales, using critical thinking to determine character motivations, and possibly use their own imagination to write their own adaptations. Overall, Cloaked in Red is a fast and easy read; while it is not the best literature it does provide readers with the tools they need to reinterpret well known tales.

Genre
Short Story

Reading Level/Interest Level
This collection of short stories would be suited for readers in grades 5th -7th.

Similar Content
Other Books by Vivian Vande Velde
Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
Beastly by Alex Flinn

Personal thoughts
I thought that the author’s interpretations were interesting. The author’s introduction stated her own opinions about Little Red Riding Hood’s intelligence which led her to create these stories. In many ways, however, the story itself seemed to hurt some of her tales. Nevertheless, Cloaked in Red is an interesting example of a fairy tale rewrite.

Subjects/themes
Fantasy/Fairy Tales
Family
Intelligence
Different Perspectives

Awards
No known awards listed on author website.

Series information
No known series

Character names/descriptions
Since the novel is a collection of short stories the main characters take on different roles, nevertheless all stories feature:

Little Red Riding Hood: Very different character in almost all of the stories. Sometimes she is completely idiotic, sometimes there is a reason for her madness. Nevertheless, she is always going to her grandmother’s house and always starts off with a red cloak.

Wolf: Mostly the villain, except in two stories.

Granny: Usually takes a passive role in most stories, but is crucial to its plot.

Red Cloak: Sometimes living, but usually just an article of clothing.

Annotation
Read eight recreations of Little Red Riding Hood, unlike any you’ve ever read before.