And, as Carmine takes off on her bicycle with Rufus, that is just what she intends to do. But Carmine is a dreamy painter, always in search of capturing just the right hue in her drawings, and this drawing—the one she begins in a lovely forest clearing just off the path to Granny’s—must be her best yet. Here is a new, lively retelling of a timeless tale with enough twists and turns to keep readers guessing until the very end.

What Kind of Book is Carmine

Topics

alphabet (ABCs)Little Red Riding Hood stories dogs wolves grandma painting red

Genres

fairy tales and folklore fiction

Reviews

Marmee

4.25

This book is an alphabet book, as well as a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood with a bit of a twist. Sensitive readers will enjoy that Grandma and Red don't actually get eaten (the wolf only takes the soup bones home to her pups) and the illustrations are great, but the alphabet backbone of the story felt random and forced and the entire thing fell a little flat for me.

Book Lists That Include Carmine

Charlie Piechart and the Case of the Missing Dog

Books about dogs

Books about alphabet (ABCs)

Red Riding Hood and the Sweet Little Wolf

Books about Little Red Riding Hood stories

The Creative Behind the Book

Author

Melissa Sweet

Melissa Sweet has illustrated more than eighty children’s books, including the Caldecott Honor books The Right Word and A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams both written by Jen Bryant. She also wrote and illustrated Tupelo Rides the Rails; Carmine: A Little More Red, which was a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book; and Balloons Over Broadway, a picture book biography that was named a 2011 Publishers Weekly Best Nonfiction Picture Book. When she is not in her studio, Melissa can be found taking an art class, hiking with her dogs, or riding her bicycle. She lives with her family in Rockport, Maine.

Awards Given to Carmine

The New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books Award

What Has Melissa Sweet Said About This Book

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