A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month February 2024
Author/ illustrator Margaret Sturton pulls no punches in this entertaining and highly moral remaking of Little Red Riding Hood, one of the all-time favourite stories.
Young Alberta does dreadful things at home. Whenever anyone tries to stop her she does a silly dance, smiles sweetly or just cries and cries. In other words, she’s a spoilt brat! But she meets her match when, defying her Mum, she climbs over the fence to follow a very interesting person she has spotted.
That person is Red Riding Wolf who is out picking flowers for her grandmother while the lovely birthday cake she has made cools. Greedy Alberta is determined to get to that cake. Tricking Red Riding Wolf, Alberta gets to the cake first but, for once, her terrible behaviour catches up with he and no amount of doing a silly dance, smiling sweetly or crying and crying will save her!
This cautionary tale is a twist on the traditional story of Little Red Riding Hood, but this time it's the wolf's turn to teach a lesson.
Alberta does dreadful things, and she always gets her own way. So when she doesn’t listen to her mother’s good advice and enters the wild and dangerous woods, it’s no surprise that she tricks a kind stranger and eats their delicious cake.
But this stranger is a wolf, wearing a red cape and hood, and she doesn’t take kindly to being double-crossed...
Will Alberta learn a lesson she will very much regret?
Margaret Sturton is a Hampshire-based author and illustrator who studied a BA and MA in Fine Art Sculpture, and subsequently gained an MA in Children's Book Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art. Margaret's mixed ethnic heritage inspires her exploration of identity and belonging, and A Fox Called Herbert came to her on a train journey as the words 'I am a fox' sprung into her mind.
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