Customer Reviews

Pretty Salma: A Little Red Riding Hood Story from Africa

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

In retelling "Little Red Riding Hood" in a modern, urban African setting, Niki Daly gives an old story a new spin, and makes contemporary African life a little more tangible to non-African readers. As a fairy-tale, though, the story is a bit intense: taking Red out of the distant, mythical woods and placing her instead in the much more tangible, menacing setting of the Accra marketplace, into a big city with a "wild side of town," makes the story's don't-talk-to-strangers message much more scary and real. For that reason, I'd recommend this for older kids, but not preschoolers or kindergarteners... But if you're looking for a multicultural, world-outside offering, this is a good choice. (ReadThatAgain)

This version of Red Riding Hood takes place in a city, with a black protagonist. Well, I live in a city, and my nieces are black, so I decided to take a chance and get this book sight unseen. (Besides, I've liked other books by this author, though they're a vastly different style!)

This one is great. First, the wolf (the dog) tricks Salma out of her clothes, then he goes to her home to steal her food. Meanwhile, Salma doesn't just wait for rescue, she goes and gets help! So everybody is saved and learns their moral lesson. Otherwise, it's the story you know. No violence in this version.

Pretty Salma lives with her grandparents in town and knows the rules about talking to strangers - but when Granny asks her to do the marketing Mr. Dog tricks her into talking to him - and tricks her out of some other things, too. Suddenly he's on his way to Granny's house - in her clothing. Disaster is on the horizon until Salma figures out how to thwart trouble in this fine 'Red Riding Hood' tale from Africa, perfect for picturebook collections seeking multicultural representations of folk stories.

I have had this book for some time now, and I must say, my daughter absolutely loves it. She recites her own version of Pretty Salma's song as we read it together. In fact, she can tell the whole story by heart. I don't have to read it at all. The pictures are colorful and this book is a wonderful way to teach your youngster about the dangers of talking to strangers and being disobedient. This book would make a great addition to any child's library!