Book Review: LITTLE RED HOT by Eric A. Kimmel

Bibliography
Kimmel, Eric A. 2013. LITTLE RED HOT. Ill. by Laura Huliska-Beith. Las Vegas: Amazon Publishing. ISBN:9781477816357

Plot Summary
Little Red Hot loves hot peppers. One day her grandmother sends word that she is not feeling well. So Little Red Hot bakes her a hot chili pepper pie. On her way to grandma's house, Little Red Hot runs into Pecos Bill and his cowboys who tell her that Senior Lobo is out making trouble. A little while later, Little Red Hot stumbles across Senior Lobo himself. She inadvertently tells him where she is going. Senior Lobo beats her to grandma's house and chases grandma away. Senior Lobo takes grandma's place to trick Little Red Hot. Instead, Little Red Hot tricks the wolf into tasting a bite of her hot chili pepper pie. Senior Lobo can't take the heat and is skyrocketed out of the house. Grandma comes back and she and Little Red Hot share the pie.

Critical Analysis
LITTLE RED HOT is a southwestern variant of Little Red Riding Hood. The plot of the two stories are similar, except Little Red Hot as a bit more spunk then the original Little Red. The Southwest is represented in the story through both the dialogue ("where ya goin?") and through different encounters with southern folk tale heroes such as Pecos Bill and his cowboys. Even the big bad wolf represents the south with his Spanish name, Senior Lobo.
The illustrations in LITTLE RED HOT are bright and colorful to capture the readers' attention. Instead of being set in the forest like the original tale, the pictures show Little Red Hot crossing the desert on her pony in order to get to grandma's house. Also, the illustrator captured Little Red Hot's sassy personality through her facial expressions.
Overall this was a very good representation of Little Red Riding Hood with a southwestern twist.

Review Excerpts
*Positive reviews from SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
*Positive reviews from BOOKLIST

Connections
Eric Kimmel has written other traditional tales with a southwestern twit. The THREE LITTLE TAMALES is a variant of the Three Little Pigs, also starring Senior Lobo. This would be an interesting connection for the children to see if they can recognize the same characters in different books. Also, children can make their own hot chili pepper pie by coloring different peppers. The librarian can cut out the peppers and help the children glue it on a pie drawing.