Telling Stories Wrong

April 18, 2022
In this story about a grown-up who can’t get a simple story right, an excerpt from Rodari’s Telephone Tales, Grandpa, to the exasperated delight of his grandchild, is all mixed up about “Little Red Riding Hood.” As the grandfather changes the story’s details (“there was a girl who was called Little Yellow Riding Hood”), the child’s constant corrections send the story further off the rails. “Oh, right!” Grandpa says again and again, as when informed that Red meets a wolf, not a giraffe, in the woods. “And the wolf asked her: How much is six times eight?” Alemagna’s (Never, Not Ever!) marker- and wash-textured illustrations, predominantly composed of blobs and circles, materialize into both reality (goldenrod-outlined Grandpa’s voluminous hair and mustache, the pink-skinned child’s pink dress and gangly braids) and narrative chaos (an entire thought bubble of Riding Hoods with cloaks of various hues), leading up to a grand finale that shows Grandpa at the helm of a city bus filled with characters who have appeared in his woolgathering. When Grandpa returns to his newspaper, and his grandchild heads to the store with a quarter for bubble gum, a final hug makes it clear that they share the same sense of
storytelling mischief. Ages 6–up.

September 23, 2022
Preschool-Grade 2 A little girl is listening to her grandfather tell the story of "Little Red Riding Hood," but he keeps getting important details wrong. He begins by saying, "'there was a girl who was called Little Yellow Riding Hood, '" to which the girl quickly responds, "'No, red!'" She continues to correct her grandfather and becomes increasingly exasperated as he keeps changing the color of the hood, swaps the wolf for a giraffe, and has the story's heroine take a bus to grandmother's house. The laugh-out-loud developments will tickle readers, but by the time Grandpa finishes his rendition of "Little Red," the little girl has had enough of his stories and leaves him to his newspaper--likely the clever old man's plan all along! Fantastic childlike illustrations by Alemagna capture the playful spirit of the story, using simple marker drawings to show all the hilarious ways Grandpa goes off script. Originally published in Rodari's Italian classic Telephone Tales, this picture book is perfect for reading aloud and for fans of fractured fairy tales.

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May 1, 2022
"Once upon a time, there was a girl who was called Little Yellow Riding Hood." "No, red!" "...Her mother said: Now go to Aunt Hildegard's house and take her this potato peel." "No, it's: Go to your grandmother's house and bring her this warm loaf of bread." Here is a humorous story of a grandfather retelling "Little Red Riding Hood" to his granddaughter, and telling it hilariously wrong. The child keeps correcting him, but it doesn't seem to get him back on track. And why bother? Anyone who reads this book will see that the heart of storytelling with children is not the accurate retelling of plot but rather the connection and creative interaction between adult and child. Alemagna's (Never, Not Ever!, rev. 9/21) well-composed and multilayered mixed-media illustrations cleverly support the transition between the two speakers, as the narrative is related solely through dialogue; thought bubbles amusingly show the very different stories unfolding in each of the character's heads. Young readers already familiar with "Little Red Riding Hood" may enjoy this story most, but it will be great fun for all, nonetheless. Weileen Wang

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2022
"Once upon a time, there was a girl who was called Little Yellow Riding Hood." "No, red!" "...Her mother said: Now go to Aunt Hildegard's house and take her this potato peel." "No, it's: Go to your grandmother's house and bring her this warm loaf of bread." Here is a humorous story of a grandfather retelling "Little Red Riding Hood" to his granddaughter, and telling it hilariously wrong. The child keeps correcting him, but it doesn't seem to get him back on track. And why bother? Anyone who reads this book will see that the heart of storytelling with children is not the accurate retelling of plot but rather the connection and creative interaction between adult and child. Alemagna's (Never, Not Ever!, rev. 9/21) well-composed and multilayered mixed-media illustrations cleverly support the transition between the two speakers, as the narrative is related solely through dialogue; thought bubbles amusingly show the very different stories unfolding in each of the character's heads. Young readers already familiar with "Little Red Riding Hood" may enjoy this story most, but it will be great fun for all, nonetheless.

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)