Overview and Outcomes:

In this ten-session Writing Root, which we suggest will take 3 weeks to cover, the children make predictions about what will happen and about a main character based on prior knowledge. They set up ‘The Belch Inn’ in class – a place that sells ginger beer, just like the one in the story, Little Red. They share a traditional tale with a twist, where Little Red convinces the wolf to drink the delicious ginger beer (for which the children write an advert) instead of eating humans, before the inn in class changes ownership and becomes ‘The Pop Inn’. But then a bear arrives and ransacks the inn…can the children’s Banana Berry Burst save the day? The sequence of learning culminates in the invention of a new character - Little Blue - and the writing of an innovated version of the original.

Synopsis of Text:

Little Red is on his way to visit his grandmother on the other side of the wood. Ignoring all warnings of wolves in the wood, he removes his coat and strays from the path. That s when the greedy wolf, lurking in the wood, hatches an evil plan. He steals the little boy's red coat and hurries to the cottage to gobble up Little Red s shortsighted grandmother. And Little Red is next on the menu! But can a keg of delicious sparkling ginger beer save him from a gruesome end? With settings from the fabulously quirky 'Ye Olde Belch' Inn to grandmother's eerie old cottage, this witty reworking of the classic tale is perfectly adapted to 18th-century England and is bursting with period detail. Other titles in the series: Cinderella and Rapunzel.

Text Rationale:

Little Red is an important retelling of the traditional tale Little Red Riding Hood, encouraging children to find joy in how the same classic story can be told in different, innovative ways. Lynn Roberts-Maloney has retold many traditional tales in novel ways, including Cinderella, an Art Deco Fairy Tale and Rapunzel, a Groovy 1970s Fairy Tale. David Roberts – her brother – has illustrated many of her texts and is a significant, award-winning illustrator also known for illustrating the Questioneers series by Andrea Beaty. Little Red is bursting with historical 18th-Century English detail and has a strong female protagonist.

Links and Themes:

Traditional tales, twisted tales, history, positive female role models

Date written: July 2017