Little Red

In Woollvin's sly, economical retelling, Little Red's own ax-wielding skills (demonstrated off camera) save the day. No delicate brushstrokes or pale palette here: chunky gouache and digital illustrations are restricted to black and gray against white, with red accents that nod to the classic. The fiercest illustration is a wordless stunner showing nothing but the girl's almond eyes, black bangs, and red hood.

You know the story: girl in red sets out for Grandma's house in the woods. Girl meets wolf en route. Girl is free-and-loose with information. Wolf beats girl to Grandma's house and devours Grandma. Wolf dons Grandma get-up in effort to fool girl and then eat her. But this time, the girl is no dummy: through Grandma's window she sees the wolf waiting for her -- "which might have scared some little girls. But not this little girl." So goes the refrain in Woollvin's sly, economical, tables-turning retelling, in which the woodcutter's services aren't needed: Little Red's own ax-wielding skills (demonstrated off camera) save the day, and the book's final spread shows the girl walking home in what looks like high-fashion wolf wear -- the equivalent of a hunter's animal-head trophy. No delicate brushstrokes or pale palette here: Woollvin's chunky gouache and digital illustrations are restricted to black and gray against white, with red accents that nod to the classic tale (while also conjuring blood that's hinted at but never shown). As it happens, Little Red's fiercest illustration is a wordless stunner showing nothing but the girl's almond eyes, black bangs, and red hood, all outsize to fill two facing pages, as she prepares to have her revenge -- and wear it, too. nell beram