We all know and love the classic tale of Little Red Riding Hood. Writer Adrianna Kruse and illustrator Patricia Kruse give the famous tale a 21st century twist. Little Red Hoodie is a tech-savvy young girl and the Big Bad Wolf is a not-so-ordinary granny who rides motorcycles and takes karate. You can imagine where the story goes from there. My kids are 3.5 and 2 and a bit young for the message but their interactive internet days are fast approaching--and it totally makes me nervous.
"I, like many other people, have been continually horrified by stories of tragedies caused by social networking sites," says Adrianna Kruse. "One day while watching a talk show that focused on a young girl who was kidnapped by a person who she met online, I thought of the parallel between online predators and the Big Bad Wolf in the Little Red Riding Hood story. I have always been a collector and lover of children's literature, and it felt like a natural fit to turn my idea into a book. The biggest challenge in writing Little Red Hoodie was getting the serious message of the story across while maintaining a light-hearted and humorous feeling that would appeal to kids."
While it makes a great read, Little Red Hoodie is also a catalyst for parents to discuss safe internet practices with their kids. "I hope that this book can initiate a conversation about Internet safety among families, and that it will inspire kids to think twice about how much they really know about the person on the other end of the computer."
Kruse even adds some important safety rules at the end of the story, including the priceless, "When in doubt, log out!" Listed at $13.99, Little Red Hoodie is now available on www.amazon.com for $10.07, which means there's no excuse not to buy it.
What a great idea! I totally think kids need to learn to understand internet safety -- it's going to be a rising crime going forward unless we can stop it at the source.
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