Monday, 11 March 2019

"Holy Squawkamole: Little Red Hen Makes Guacamole" by Susan Wood and Laura Gonzalez (Sterling Publishing)

One of my favourite stories as a kid was "The Little Red Hen" and I have so many fond memories of the old "Ladybird Classics" version of that story, full of characterful illustrations and such a memorable moral tale.

I was marginally surprised to find that this well-loved tale hadn't cropped up on the blog before. But here it is, with a millennial spin or two.

"Holy Squawkamole! Little Red Hen Makes Guacamole" by Susan Wood and Laura Gonzalez is a distinctly different take on the story, with Little Red Hen really craving one of our favourite foods.

We love Guacamole - nothing goes better with our tacos and dips than this glorious green concoction - so it's not difficult to see why Little Red Hen's tummy is rumbling at the thought of making a batch.

But just like in the classic fairy tale where Little Red Hen is trying to get some help from her fellow creatures to bake some bread, poor Little Red Hen struggles here too as no one wants to help her harvest the ingredients for some spicy dip.

Well you can't make guacamole without avocados!
Time and time again, the animals in the story say "Not I!" when Little Red Hen asks for help, but with her plucky determination she soon makes a glorious batch of the stuff - and finds that those mean animals quite fancy a taste too!

Bit flippin' rude, Coati!
I'm sure you can guess how the tale ends but this is a rather wonderful version of a classic tale retold with style and panache, updated for a whole new generation of kids who will absolutely love Little Red Hen.

Sum this book up in a sentence: A superb retelling of a classic tale, that now has us absolutely craving Guacamole - Does anyone want to help us whip up a batch?

"Holy Squawkamole: Little Red Hen Makes Guacamole" by Susan Wood and Laura Gonzalez is out now, published by Sterling Publishing (kindly supplied for review).