Betsy Red Hoodie    by Gail Carson Levine & Scott Nash Order:  USA  Can HarperCollins, 2010 (2010) Hardcover Read an Excerpt     Reviewed by Hilary Daninhirsch Gail Carson Levine, author of Ella Enchanted and other fairy tale books, has written a companion picture book to Betsy Who Cried Wolf. Betsy is now an experienced shepherd. Her assistant is a wolf named Zimmo, who helps with her flock. Betsy is delighted that she is finally old enough to go to Grandma's alone to deliver a basket of cupcakes (sound familiar?) Zimmo really wants to go, but his species has a bad reputation - a big bad wolf had eaten a grandma long ago, and many farmers feel he cannot be trusted. Betsy looks beyond that, though, and decides he can accompany her to Grandma's. Everything is going along smoothly on the journey; Zimmo is being quite helpful with the flock, when suddenly he runs ahead of everyone, leaving Betsy alone with uncooperative sheep. Of course, Betsy's suspicions are roused. Was she wrong to trust Zimmo? What will she find when she gets to Grandma's? As all fairy tales should, this one has a happy ending, but I won't spoil the surprise. (Hint: it's Betsy's birthday.) I loved Betsy's faith in Zimmo and her defense of him, even though she was going against popular opinion. In this way, the book explores the meaning of friendship and loyalty. As in the first book, I felt that the private conversations between the sheep were a little distracting, especially when reading aloud to children, but there are a few amusing little cartoon blurbs. While the book can be read alone, it does help to have read the first book for an introduction to the nature of Betsy and Zimmo's friendship. The drawings here are as sweet and amusing as in the first book. Betsy Red Hoodie would appeal to the younger elementary school set. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Kids books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews