Red

Alexander, Jed. Red. Petaluma, CA: Cameron + Company, 2018.

Another wordless book – so you know there is a good chance I’m going to love it. And I do. Red is really a fractured fairy tale without words. Jed Alexander chose to portray the wolf as a good guy in this picture book. Red is on her way to her granny’s house – no surprise there. But what happens along the way is a surprise.

Once again with a wordless book I can see so many ways to use the book in the classroom. The most obvious way is to compare it to the traditional Little Red Riding Hood tale. Another would be to have students each write the story of the pictures on one page and then combine the stories into one. But then I have mentioned that one before, but I think that it is a really good activity to do with wordless books.

I will be including Red in my Mock Caldecott unit later this fall. I think Red is probably near the top of my favorites list of new picture books this year. It will be interesting to see if my students feel the same.

You can find more about Jed Alexander on his web site – including some Red downloads you could use with your students.

I want to thank Cameron + Company for the review copy of Red in exchange for this honest review. The book will now be placed in my school library for my students to enjoy.