Little Red Ruthie: A Hanukkah Tale

She may be Jewish and her hood may be a puffy red coat, but Ruthie has the same problem as the original Little Red Riding Hood—a hungry wolf—which means she needs to be as “brave as the Maccabees.” Koster and Eastland’s spoof takes several twists and turns, including the revelation that the Wolf doesn’t mind dressing up as Bubbe (Eastland shows him spritzing himself with perfume and admiring himself in the mirror). Ruthie, meanwhile, finds a powerful weapon in latkes. She feeds the wolf so many of them (after explaining their significance, of course), that he begs to escape into the fresh air. (Bubbe Basha, being a bubbe, sends him on his way with a jelly donut.) Eastland’s digital drawings, breezy and punctuated with lots of red, are a stylish counterpoint to the poker-faced text. Ages 4–8. Illustrator’s agency: Advocate Art. (Aug.)