"Lon Po Po"

Title: Lon Po Po
Author and Illustrator: Ed Young
Publisher: Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers, 1989
Genre: Traditional Literature Picture Book
Grade: 2-4

"Lon Po Po" is the Chinese tale of Little Red Riding Hood. There are three sisters- Shang, Tao, and Paotze- and their mother decides to leave them at home while she goes to visit their grandmother for her birthday. She tells them to stay inside and make sure the door is latched. The wolf sees the mother leave so he disguises himself as their grandmother, Po Po, and comes and knocks on the door. The children let him in. Before long, they all climb into bed. While laying there, the sisters talk about Po Po's feet and how they have a bush on it and how her hands have thorns on them. The children then decide they want some gingko nuts so they go outside and climb the tree and begin eating the nuts. Po Po wants some nuts but the children tell her that she must pick her own nuts or they will do her no good. The children get the idea to have Po Po tie a string to the basket and throw them the other end and they will pull her up the tree. On the third try, the children drop her again but this time the wolf bumps his head and his heart broke into pieces. The next day their mother arrives with gifts from their real Po Po.

I liked this book but it was a lot different from the traditional Little Red Riding Hood story that I grew up listening to. In this particular story, the mother goes to visit the grandmother instead of Little Red Riding Hood going. The pictures in this book look like charcoal pencil in some spots and then water color painting in other pictures. Little Red Riding Hood use to be one of my favorite stories when I was smaller so I enjoyed reading an alternative version.

I would use this book in my classroom in my unit of folk tales. I could have my students to read the book and then read other versions of the same story and then have them to make a Venn-Diagram comparing the different stories. I could use a variety of books for this unit and not just Little Red Riding Hood.