Little Red Riding Hood: a book club kit

Where it comes from. Charles Perrault wrote this down in France in 1697. The Brothers Grimm told it in Germany in 1812, with a woodcutter's rescue.

In short (for the leader; it gives the ending away). A girl in a red hood takes a basket to her sick grandmother and is told to stay on the path. A sly wolf tricks her into stopping for flowers and gets to Grandma's house first. A woodcutter chases the wolf away, Grandma comes out of the wardrobe, and Little Red Riding Hood promises to always stay on the path.

The lesson, in one line. Listen to good advice, and stay on the path.

Reading plan. Read it together at the meeting: about 3 minutes aloud, or ahead of time at home.

Questions to talk about

1. Where does Little Red Riding Hood come from?
   The story's answer: It is a European folktale. The first version in print that we know is Charles Perrault's, published in France in 1697. The Brothers Grimm printed a German version, Rotkäppchen, in 1812. Some versions were told aloud, such as a French one called “The Grandmother” that a folklorist wrote down about 1870.
2. How is the first Little Red Riding Hood different from the one most people know?
   The story's answer: Perrault's 1697 version has no rescue: it ends with a warning to children, especially young girls, not to listen to strangers. The red hood that gives the girl her name was his addition. In the Grimms' version a huntsman rescues her and her grandmother, and later German tellings use a woodcutter, as this one does.
3. What is the moral of Little Red Riding Hood?
   The story's answer: Perrault ended his story with a plain warning to children about listening to strangers. In this telling the lesson is Little Red Riding Hood's own: she forgets her mother's words, leaves the path, and then promises to stay on the path and never talk to wolves again.
4. Who in the story was kind, and who was not? How do you know?
   Listen for: Ask for the moment in the story that shows it.
5. Which part would you change, and how would the story end then?
   Listen for: There is no wrong ending; ask what else would have to change.
6. Is there a rule of three in this story (three tries, three wishes, three visitors)? Why do you think fairy tales like threes?
   Listen for: Many do; a third time is where the change happens.

Did you know?

• The first version in print that we know is by Charles Perrault, in France in 1697, in his Tales of Mother Goose.
• The Brothers Grimm printed their version, Rotkäppchen (“Little Red Cap”), in 1812.
• Perrault ends his story with a warning to children not to listen to strangers. The Grimms' version adds a huntsman who rescues the girl and her grandmother.

Activity: Draw the story as a map

On one big sheet, draw every place the story happens and the path between them. Mark the spot where things go wrong and the spot where they come right.