This delightful re-telling of the Little Red Riding Hood story is set in the Southwest, and the big bad wolf is a hungry coyote.  Isabel is on her way to her grandmother's house with a basket of tamales when she meets a very hungry coyote.  He considers eating Isabel straight away, but then when he finds out that she is going to Grandma's house, he reconsiders...after all, he could eat Grandma too if he follows Isabel and bides his time.

Polette has modernized this wonderful story and made it exciting all over again, and of course the coyote gets exactly what he deserves.  The hot tamales and the fiery chile sauce is an innovative touch along with Isabel's cleverness. While the whimsical illustrations of the southwest setting give little readers something new to look at, including Grandma's expressive cat, a horned toad, and the cute little tamale bundles. It will have everyone laughing out loud.

This will be a wonderful bedtime story, and it might be fun for the kids to compare with the old standard Little Red Riding Hood story.