Betsy Red Hoodie [Hardcover]

Gail Carson Levine (Author), Scott Nash (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Betsy is finally old enough to take cupcakes to Grandma all by herself—with the company of her faithful sheep, of course. And although wolves aren’t good for grandmas, Betsy lets her best friend, Zimmo, come along too. But will Zimmo’s wolfish instincts make Grandma the tasty treat instead?

In her second picture book starring the feisty young shepherd Betsy, Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine teams up once again with Scott Nash to put a hilarious twist on an old favorite. This reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood is sure to delight readers from little lambs to cupcake-loving grandmas.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 2-4–Betsy, the trustworthy shepherd introduced in Betsy Who Cried Wolf (HarperCollins, 2002), and Zimmo, the wolf who reinvented himself after demonstrating his predilection for herding sheep instead of eating them, are together again. It is Betsy's birthday, and she is allowed to go to her grandmother's house by herself to deliver cupcakes. She decides to take the sheep, and Zimmo begs to come along. Betsy concedes, but her instincts warn her that wolves and grandmas don't mix. When Zimmo runs ahead, suspicions surge, and she lets her fears get the best of her. The journey becomes an uphill climb in the mud for Betsy with her herd slipping and sliding, but ends in a sweet surprise. Nash's illustrations, steeped in comic tradition but heavily crosshatched, exhibit realism reminiscent of David Macaulay's work. The sheep sport backpacks and model an assortment of fashion accessories–hats, boots, even guitars. The wry humor of the herd, who crack jokes and banter in speech bubbles alongside the narrative, will appeal to children and lends comic relief to the story of a difficult journey. Sheep act like birds (and people), wolves act like people (and grandmas), and there's even a joke that Betsy's birthday wish is to become a sheep someday, implying a free-to-be-you-an-me vision of identity and parodying the heavily analyzed wolf-dressed-as-grandmother motif of the original tale.Sara Lissa Paulson, American Sign Language and English Lower School PS 347, New York City
© Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

The little shepherd in the hoodie sweatshirt who starred in Betsy Who Cried Wolf! (2002) makes another appearance in this loopy, laugh-aloud adventure. Traditional story elements frame the tale: Betsy is asked to carry a basket of baked goods to her grandmother. She responsibly brings her sheep along, with the help of her unlikely co-shepherd, Zimmo the wolf, who disappears along the way. Betsy has always known that “wolves aren’t good for grandmas.” Is Zimmo up to no good? After journeying through mountains and mudslides, Betsy finally reaches her grandmother and finds her alive and well, entertaining surprise guests at a full-swing party. Levine’s well-paced, straightforward storytelling plays nicely against the broad comedy in Nash’s color-washed ink drawings, which are filled with comics-style speech balloons printed with asides and complaints from the sheep (“My wool is itchy”). Full of action, zaniness, and a few meta-moments in which characters crawl out of the story, this makes a good companion to David Wiesner’s similarly fractured The Three Pigs (2001). Grades K-3. --Gillian Engberg

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (September 14, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061468703
• ISBN-13: 978-0061468704
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 10.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,334,073 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gail Carson Levine grew up in New York City and has been writing all her life. Her first book for children, Ella Enchanted, was a 1998 Newbery Honor Book. Levine's other books include Dave At Night, an ALA Notable Book and Best Book for Young Adults; The Wish; The Two Princesses of Bamarre; and her Princess Tales books: The Princess Test, The Fairy's Mistake, Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep, Cinderellis and the Glass Hill, For Biddle's Sake and The Fairy's Return. She is also the author of the picture book Betsy Who Cried Wolf, illustrated by Scott Nash. Gail, her husband, David, and their Airedale, Baxter, live in a two-hundred-year-old farmhouse in the Hudson River Valley.

In Her Own Words..."I grew up in New York City. In elementary school I was a charter member of the Scribble Scrabble Club, and in high school my poems were published in an anthology of student poetry. I didn't want to be a writer. First I wanted to act and then I wanted to be a painter like my big sister. In college, I was a Philosophy major, and my prose style was very dry and dull! My interest in the theater led me to my first writing experience as an adult. My husband David wrote the music and lyrics and I wrote the book for a children's musical, Spacenapped that was produced by a neighborhood theater in Brooklyn.

"And my painting brought me to writing for children in earnest. I took a class in writing and illustrating children's books and found that I was much more interested in the writing than in the illustrating.

"Most of my job life has had to do with welfare, first helping people find work and then as an administrator. The earlier experience was more direct and satisfying, and I enjoy thinking that a bunch of people somewhere are doing better today than they might have done if not for me."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lacks coherence and internal logic, January 10, 2011

By 

Dienne (Cicero, IL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Betsy Red Hoodie (Hardcover)

I haven't read "Betsy Who Cried Wolf", so I guess I'll just accept that that book established how a wolf got to be a trusted shepherd. Still seems rather baffling that he wouldn't then be trusted around grandmas too. I mean, I know a wolf once ate a grandma, but many wolves have eaten many sheep, so if this wolf can be trusted around sheep, it seems he would be trusted around grandmas.

That's just one example of the lack of internal logic in this story. I realize it's "only" a children's story, so perhaps I shouldn't overanalyze it, but children are capable of understanding logic too and they deserve stories that make sense. This one doesn't seem to fit that bill.

Betsy's mother has decided that Betsy is now old enough to go to Grandma's house on her own. Why she's been trusted to be a shepherd but not go to Grandma's house is a little baffling. As a shepherd, she is naturally concerned what to do with the sheep. "Take them with you," her mother suggests. Why wouldn't she just leave them with the other shepherd - the one who isn't trusted around grandmas? But Zimmo is Betsy's best friend (supposedly), so she brings him along too and hopes for the best.

So we suspend a great deal of disbelief and set out for Grandma's house with this unlikely troop. Things go reasonably well for a time. The sheep - fittingly outfitted in hiking boots - banter among themselves. They meet a farmer and a hunter who are rather skeptical of a wolf visiting Grandma, but Betsy reassures them.

But then things take a turn for the worse. Zimmo sprints on ahead to Grandma's, leaving Betsy (and us) to wonder if it's true what they say about wolves and grandmas. Bad weather hits and the sheep refuse to move. One sheep gets lost. Then Betsy has to haul each sheep individually up Slipenfall Hill. But nonetheless, Betsy must persevere and save Grandma!

After this terrifying and exhausting ordeal, Betsy finally arrives at Grandma's house to find...a birthday party. Betsy's mother, Zimmo and his mother and the farmer are all already there. Now, call me a softy, but I certainly wouldn't put my daughter through that kind of an ordeal just to spring a surprise birthday party on her. And I'd think twice about remaining best friends with someone who would leave me in such a lurch for the same reason. And why didn't the farmer just take Betsy and the sheep in his truck? With friends like these.... All-in-all, a very unconvincing story.

I read this with my four-year-old daughter and she seemed to share my reaction. She looked confused/skeptical throughout most of the book. The humor, which is mildly amusing for adults, went right over her head (except for the one time when the sheep says, "Some books go on forever." - she laughed at that). We checked this out at the library and I won't be sorry to return it. She hasn't asked for it again.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Adorable Sheep, Clever Humor, and a Great Message, September 22, 2010

By 

Jennifer Donovan "5minutesforbooks" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Betsy Red Hoodie (Hardcover)

I was captivated by a familiar name, Gail Carson Levine, and the beautiful cover artwork in this book.

Look at those sheep -- they are adorable, right? And they got even more compelling as soon as I opened the book and saw that they were having a conversation (with cartoon dialogue bubbles) right there on the endpaper. This drew my 6-year-old son right into the book as well. In fact, these sheep share their thoughts in their speech bubbles throughout the book. My son loves books that use this device, when there's a lot going on on the page. It's the kind of book that he will sit and read and examine and dare-I-say-it enjoy independently.

Betsy is finally old enough to take the cupcakes to Grandma's house by herself. She sets off, taking her sheep with her so that they can get some exercise (Permit me one more word about these sheep -- they are outfitted in hiking books and backpacks -- so cute). Zimmo, the other shepherd who happens to be a wolf begs to go, but Betsy hesitates because "wolves aren't good for grandmas" because one had eaten a grandmother a long time ago.

He begs, and she relents, remembering that Zimmo had never hurt a person or a sheep, so they set off. Betsy (outfitted in her red hoodie sweatshirt) and the sheep have a few obstacles to overcome: a hunter who wants to shoot Zimmo, Zimmo taking off and leaving them behind, a lost lamb, and a mudslide. But they persist, and when Betsy finally makes it to Grandma's house, she finds it's worth waiting for.

The sheep's comments on the last few pages and the endpaper on the back cover sealed my love for this book. It's a cute story inspired by, yet completely different from, Little Red Riding Hood.

For the beautiful artwork, the clever story with a good message of perseverance and independence, the humor and of course the sheep, I am giving this book 5 Stars.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Betsy and the Zimmo the Wolf Are Back, October 18, 2010

By 

Heidi Anne Heiner (SurLaLune Fairy Tales.com) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Betsy Red Hoodie (Hardcover)

This is a "sequel" to Levine's previous book, Betsy Who Cried Wolf. Both books are quite cute and modern takes on their respective tales. Betsy and Zimmo and all the sheep are back, this time with a take on Little Red Riding Hood, as the description says.

"'You have to stay home,' Betsy said. 'Wolves aren't good for grandmas.' Long ago a wolf had eaten a grandma."

That's the tone of the book, right there in those few lines.

I have to admit my favorite characters are the sheep. They get to participate mostly through balloon bubble comments throughout the book. The have more fun and get to deliver the "big eyes" and "big teeth" lines this time. There's plenty of direct nods to Little Red Riding Hood for the kids to understand and enough other subtle humor to amuse adults such as sheep "tumbling" after her (Jack and Jill of course) and wool that needs dry cleaning.

Anyway, it's a fun book and great for lapsit reading although the nature of the talk bubbles and side comments don't make it an ideal group storytime read--although I don't do many storytimes anymore, I can't help evaluating all books for the necessary qualities--it's still a great book to add to any library: home, school or public.