Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Red

Red by Jed Alexander. 2018. Cameron Kids. 32 pages. [Source: Review copy]

Premise/plot: A little girl in a red hood and cape is walking in the woods. Could she be on the way to her Grandma's house? Perhaps. She is going somewhere that is for sure--basket in hand. She is not alone in the woods.

Red is a wordless picture book. The story is revealed solely through the black, white, and red illustrations.

My thoughts: I rarely love, love, love wordless picture books. I need words. I hate to admit it, but I do. It is a lot harder for me to "read" illustrations than to read words. Perhaps it should be the opposite in a logical world.

The illustrations. I didn't love them. I like the idea of loving vintage-inspired illustrations. I like the idea of loving the simplicity and boldness of the black, white, and red. I think I liked the backgrounds better than the illustrations of the people and the animals.

In this picture book, a little girl is on her way to her own surprise birthday party. The wolf in the woods is not an enemy, but a DISTRACTION. His goal seems to be to keep the girl from noticing all the other animals on the way to the party. The animals are carrying presents, party decorations, balloons, a CAKE. Will she be SURPRISED?

Text: 0 of 0
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 3 out of 5

© 2018 Becky Laney of Young Readers

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