Eleven well-known folk and fairy tales get a Latino look and feel in Patricia Santos Marcantonio’s delightful retellings. In “Red Ridin’ in the Hood,” smart young Roja is taking a shortcut down Forest Street when “Up rolled a glossy brown low-rider Chevy with licks of flame painted on the hood. It jolted up and down, the hydraulics making the driver’s large, hairy ears bounce.” “Emperador’s New Clothes” is set at Emiliano Zapata high school, where the coolest senior, Emperador Gómez, delights in putting others down for their lack of style. And when the “Three Chicharrones” go into real estate, a hungry dealmaker named Dinero Martinez is determined to cheat each one in turn out of everything he has. Many of Marcantonio’s fresh, lively stories are funny, but there are touching tales as well, and all remain true to the spirit of the originals. Each story features several mood-enhancing black-and-white illustrations by Renato Alarcão. (Ages 8–12)

Famous tales refashioned in Latin American settings

Eleven classic tales are retold with an injection of Latino culture, providing a twist on the traditional forms while sustaining a freshness all their own. The title story, "Red Ridin' in the Hood," moves the setting to the barrio, where Red decides to brave dangerous Forest Street in order to reach her abuelita and encounters the menacing wolf in a thumping Chevy lowrider. Some stories are set in the Mexican countryside; in "Belleza y La Bestia," the beautiful heroine is a defender of the Revolution and teaches the beast about the righteousness of the freedom fighters. "El Día de los Muertos," a retelling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, takes place in the time of the Aztecs and casts Orpheus as the feather-maker Nochehuatl.

These and the other cuentos in this book are further brought to life by abundant illustrations, by turns comical and poignant.