Little Red Riding Hood on a Bike I'm always on the lookout for kids' books that have bicycling in them. Kids need every positive association with bicycling possible to combat all the NASCAR culture they are bombarded with every day, as far as I'm concerned. Duck on a Bike stands out as a pivotal discovery for me with its wonderful illustrations and wonderful story line. When a colorful book package arrived and out popped Carmine, I was instantly intrigued. Carmine: A Little More Red by Melissa Sweet is a delightful and beautiful book that mixes tradition, education, and some good bicycling adventure all in one. Carmine is the modern Little Red Riding Hood who is equipped with a bike and painting supplies and has a friendly dog named Rufus. And so the story starts off with Granny inviting Carmine over for a lunch of her famous alphabet soup. Despite reminders by her mother not to "dilly-dally," Carmine, a talented young artist, is drawn to stop and paint some beautiful hills and flowers as a present for Granny. Rufus is doing his best to not be alarmed at the signs of a wolf lurking nearby. It is only when Carmine hears Granny's cry of "Wolf!" from across the valley that she quits painting and rushes over to find Granny's kitchen empty. Now I'm not going to give away the story, but safe to say that this book will pique the interest of young readers but not give them nightmares. Granny's alphabet soup is also stirred throughout the story, serving up a creative vocabulary from A to Z. From Beware to Exquisite to Omen, each word is used in context of the story. The very colorful watercolor illustrations are excellent and invite your eyes to move around the page, often including fun details that support the story and fill in between some of the lines. And Granny's alphabet soup recipe is even included in the back, inviting readers to have their own vocabulary and storytelling adventures. I'll be buying a couple copies of this book myself to give to some of my budding young bicyclist friends. I certainly enjoyed the book and recommend it for kids ages 3 to 7. It also is extra cool that Melissa Sweet, the author and illustrator, is also a BCM member who lives in Rockport and has even ridden the Maine Lobster Ride & Roll a couple of times. Now, if she would just write and illustrate a book about a bunch of lobsters who set out to explore the Maine coast by land on their bicycles... Published by Houghton Mifflin, you should be able to get Carmine for $16 through your favorite bookstores, or you can order it through the BCM (shipping and handling are extra for mail orders).
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