I've been researching Beatrix Potter titles for a craft project and that documentation has primarily gone on my craft blog. However, in my search for Beatrix Potter titles I came across Red Riding Hood retold by Beatrix Potter and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury.
I'm always interested in different versions of fairy tales and Oxenbury's introduction explains why she wanted to illustrate Potter's darker version of the tale. I grew up on the darker fairy tales and I was quite surprised to go to school and realize most children grew up with the more cleaned up versions of the classic fairy tales. I'd seen the Disney Cinderella but I'd also read the darker version with the sister's removing parts of their feet to fit in the shoes. What I didn't realize is most kids had never heard the darker versions. Even some of my teachers hadn't read the original darker tales and thought I'd made them up. I later found a copy of the book I'd grown up with and felt almost vindicated that I hadn't been crazy remembering the much darker versions.
For those looking for a happily ever after tale where Red Riding Hood learns her lesson about wandering off and not following directions from her mother, this is not the tale for you. This tale is about the true nature of a wolf. He is a predator and in this version a trickster and this does not bode well for Red Riding Hood. Oxenbury tries to indicate there will be justice at the end with her illustrations, but Potter let the wolf go with Riding Hood punished for not heeding the directions of her mother.
Many years ago I used to teach a traditional tales unit to fourth graders and I could see using this book as part of that unit. It shakes up the tale kids think they know and gets them to think about the story they think they know in a new way. However, for parents who see Beatrix Potter and think they'd like this for their nursery I'd get a copy from the library and look at it first. There are more younger child versions that would appeal to little ones.
