The Tea Party in the Woods by Akiko Miyakoshi

Released August 1, 2015.

Snow has fallen and Kikko wants to help her father clear her grandmother’s walk. He has already left but forgot to take the pie for her grandmother, so Kikko follows his footprints through the snow. She can see him ahead of her when she falls and crushes the pie. Still, she picks it all back up and continues on her way. But her father is heading into a huge building that Kikko has never seen before. As she approaches, she looks in the window and sees that the man she has been following is actually a bear in a coat. A little lamb comes up to her and asks her inside to join the tea party. Kikko is the only human there in a room filled with forest creatures. She quickly is welcomed to their tea party and spends a splendid time with them. When the time comes to continue on her way to her grandmother’s house, the animals replace the crushed pie with one made from different pieces of their own pies. Kikko is soon at her grandmother’s house where they are clearly delighted with the unusual pie.

Miyakoshi has created a story that is pure magic. She takes the traditional Little Riding Hood story of a girl heading through the woods to her grandmother’s house and turns it upside down in a most pleasant and unusual way. Once readers see that she is with wild animals, they will expect the story to take a darker turn. Instead they will discover a book that gets ever friendlier and more welcoming, a book filled with the warmth of new-found friends.

The illustrations are done with touches of color brightening the charcoal and pencil illustrations. Kikko is set apart immediately with her bright yellow hair and red hat and mittens. She is a burst of color against the white and the darkness. The illustrations of the animals are particularly effective. They are realistic and yet the animals are dressed in human attire, making it a lovely and whimsical book.

Gentle and friendly, this twist on Little Red Riding Hood is enchanting. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Kids Can Press.