Little Red Riding Hood

Title: Little Red Riding Hood
Author: Jerry Pinkney
Illustrated: Jerry Pinkney
Published: Little, Brown and Company, New York
Date: Spetember, 2007
Summary: A sweet little girl meets a hungry wolf in the forest while on her way to visit her grandmother.
Age Level: Primary (Kindergarten-2)
Strengths: I really like the combination of water color and colored pencils the illustrator created. It shows a good amount of depths, details and some different perspectives. For example, when Little Red Riding Hood is walking through the wintry forest, there is an image where the forest expands in the direction of the reader, so you can see the expressions of Little Red Riding Hood. I liked how the text went along with the images. When the wolf tells her to fetch wood, the illustrator shows the image of the girl bending down and collecting twigs.
Concerns: The wolf seems a little strange. In one image, when Little Red Riding Hood is pointing to her grandmother's house, he is jumping as if he was attacking her. Also, when the wolf arrives to the grandmother's house, he stands on his hind legs, looking at the door, but his shadow is looking sideways (It violates the rules of art perspectives). Also, when the wolf is dressed up as the grandmother, there is a picture to the left of the grandmother who has a pained expresion on her face. When the wood cutter comes and kills the wolf and frees the grandmother and Little Red Riding Hood, the picture next to the bed is smiling.
Comments: I think this would be good for 1st to 2nd graders because it is a little wordy, but it does have a good message to do as you're told.