Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story from China

Title: Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story from China

Author: Ed Young

Genre: Multicultural

Summary: A mother had three children: Shang, Tao and Paotze. On their grandmother’s birthday, their mother set off to visit her but she left the children at home. She simply told them: “Remember to close the door tight at sunset and latch it well.” After the mother left, there was a knock at the door. It was a wolf, disguised as an old woman, pretending to be Po Po, their grandmother. The children told the visitor that their mother had just gone to see her, but outside, she wasn’t in sight. The children noticed how low the voice was outside, but “Po Po” said she had a cold. The children let her in and immediately after entering, she blew out the candle. Before you knew it, the children were going to sleep in the same bed as this wolf. They noticed her long hair and sharp nails. Next, the children offered the wolf gingko nuts, but in order for them to be “magic”, they needed to be picked directly from the tree, meaning the wolf needed to pick them for herself. The children tried to pull Po Po up the tree but they weren’t nearly strong enough so they kept dropping her on the ground. The last attempt was the closest, but Shang coughed and the wolf bumped his head and broke his heart to pieces. The children made sure the wolf was dead, went inside, locked the door with the latch and went to sleep.

Characters: Mother, Shang, Tao, Paotze, Po Po, the wolf

Setting: house, outside of the house

Plot: Stay safe from the wolf who called himself “Po Po”

Theme: How important it is to listen to directions for your safety

Opinion: I didn’t like this book. I thought it was confusing to read and determine who was real and who wasn’t. I think it would be too difficult for some children to understand the main ideas and what is really going on throughout the story.