These are not, I should say at the outset, tales written for the benefit of well-behaved girls who always stick to the path when they go to Grandma’s…Rather, these are tales for girls who have boots as stout as their hearts, and who are prepared to firmly lace them up (boots and hearts both) and step out into the wilds in search of what they desire.
Rosie Little is a modern Little Red Riding Hood, who traipses (or perhaps tramps) through life in a pair of red Doc Martens. Her stories, about her own life and those of her friends and acquaintances, are whimsical, clever and mesmerizing. There is the tale of her cousin Meredith a large woman who is the unwitting (and unwilling) collector of elephants, and the tale of her friend Eve who moves to the country to pursue a career as an artist, only to find herself unable to start painting. But the stories which produce the most empathy with the reader are Rosie’s own stories – of love and of loss, of work and travel – each very different but each a gem, to be enjoyed by itself and, gradually, as part of a delicious whole.
From the award winning author of The Alphabet of Light and Dark, Danielle Woods, Rosie Little’s Cautionary Tales for Girls is a delightful offering.
Rosie Little’s Cautionary Tales for Girls, by Danielle Wood
Allen & Unwin, 2006
You can buy this book online at Fishpond.