SuitabookAlberta A Cautionary Tale
Margaret Sturton
- Reading
- Read it alongside the traditional Little Red Riding Hood story if the child knows it; pause before the final outcome and invite predictions. Afterwards, separate Alberta’s actions from the wolf’s response and revisit the title.
- Themes
- Choices and consequences: Alberta ignores her mother’s advice, enters the woods, tricks a stranger and takes their cake. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Reversing the familiar fairy tale: The wolf wears the recognisable red cape and hood, while Alberta takes the disruptive role and the wolf becomes the lesson-giver. The retelling deliberately changes the familiar roles, inviting comparison with the traditional tale rather than simply repeating it.
- Strangers and trust: Alberta encounters a stranger in the woods, befriends them, tricks them and eats their cake; the stranger is later revealed as a wolf. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Worth knowing
- Before reading, consider whether a child enjoys suspenseful fairy tales and stories where a character behaves badly. The woodland danger, angry wolf and uncertain outcome may merit a calm, unhurried reading.