about the book
Here is a spicy twist to the classic Red Riding Hood tale.
This little “biddy” Texas gal loves red hot chili peppers. The hotter the better! She eats them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She loves them so much that everyone calls her Little Red Hot. When they claim that she eats fire right off the stove, she chimes back that fire isn’t hot enough!
One day her mother receives a distressing note. Grandma is feeling poorly. Deciding to visit her, Little Red Hot uses the hottest peppers she can find and adds several huge dashes of Tabasco to make a great big Hot Pepper Pie! This pie will knock the germs right out of Grams.
On her way to Grams, Little Red Hot meets up with Pecos Bill. He warns her that the Three Tamales had a run-in with Senor Lobos. She promises to keep an eye out for that wily wolf.
Well, Senor Lobos is closer than they thought.
He hightails it to Grandma’s house for a tasty snack before Little Red Hot gets there. Granny’s not a fool, and she bounds out the window, running off before the wolf gets even a nibble.
Disguised as Grandma, Senor Lobo thinks he can trick Little Red Hot. There a lot of questions about big eyes and big ears, but when the wolf opens his mouth to show his teeth, Little Red Hot has a very big surprise for him.
Do you think he can handle the heat of a big ole slice of Hot Pepper Pie?
about the author
Eric Kimmel was born in Brooklyn in 1946, and his earliest memories are of his grandmother telling stories from her own childhood in Europe. Eric loved books, especially The Duck by Margaret Wise Brown. He didn’t want to return it to the library, so he copied it, using his dad’s typewriter. You might say that was the very first book he wrote! Eric wanted to be a writer since kindergarten, when he discovered that people called authors made books.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Lafayette College, a master’s from New York University, and a PhD in education from the University of Illinois. He taught for over twenty years at Indiana University and at Portland State University, where his favorite subjects were children’s literature, storytelling, and handwriting.
In 1993 Eric retired from teaching to write full time. He gets terrific ideas for stories from his dreams and is especially interested in finding and retelling classic folktales from many cultures. ”I love being an author because I’m never bored. I’m experiencing the story with the characters. Every day brings something new and interesting.” Eric doesn’t keep count, but a friend once told him that he has written over a hundred children’s books!
Eric and his wife Doris call Portland, Oregon, home. They have a dog named Tasha, two cats named Inky and Pirate, a snake who never bites, and tropical fish. Eric’s interests include riding horses, baking bread, brewing beer, spinning, traveling by trains, and playing the banjo.
Sources:
Author website
Author biography: Wikipedia
Author biography: Macmillan
Author biography: Scholastic
Author interview: Examiner
Also by Eric A. Kimmel:
Jack and the Giant Barbecue. Amazon Children’s Publishing. 2012.
Joseph and the Sabbath Fish. Kar-Ben Copies. 2011.
The Flying Canoe : A Christmas Story. Holiday House. 2011.
The Golem’s Latkes. Amazon Children’s Publishing. 2011.
The Story of Esther : A Purim Tale. Holiday House. 2011.
Joha Makes a Wish : A Middle Eastern Tale. Amazon Children’s Publishing. 2010.
Medio Pollito : A Spanish Tale. Amazon Children’s Publishing. 2010.
The Spider’s Gift : A Ukranian Christmas Story. Holiday House. 2010.
Even Higher! : A Rosh Hashanah Story by I.L. Peretz. Holiday House. 2009.
The Three Little Tamales. Amazon Children’s Publishing. 2009.
The Fisherman and the Turtle. Amazon Children’s Publishing. 2008.
Little Britches and the Rattlers. Amazon Children’s Publishing. 2008.
Anansi’s Party Time. Holiday House. 2008.
The Three Cabritos. Amazon Children’s Publishing. 2007.
The Frog Tale : A Tlingit Legend From Alaska. Holiday House. 2006.
Cactus Soup. Amazon Children’s Publishing. 2004.
Three Samurai Cats : A Story from Japan. Holiday House. 2003.
Anansi and the Magic Stick. Holiday House. 2001.
Why the Snake Crawls on Its Belly. Pitspopany Press. 2001.
Zigazak! : A Magical Hanukkah Night. Doubleday. 2001.
Gershon’s Monster : A Story for the Jewish New Year. Scholastic. 2000.
about the illustrator
Laura Huliska-Beith last name looks like a real tongue twister, but it isn’t too hard to pronounce. Just say “Laura Hull-is-ca Beeth!”
Laura grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, the oldest of five children. Both of her parents were avid readers, especially her mom who was a teacher. They also supported Laura’s passion for art, giving her lots of encouragement and every craft medium available in the 1970s.
After graduating from the Kansas City Art Institute, Laura designed and illustrated greeting cards for Hallmark. After several years, she left to pursue her dream of illustrating children’s books.
Her very first book, which she wrote and illustrated, was inspired by her childhood, her siblings, and her own children. It is called The Book of Bad Ideas, and she is embarrassed to admit that bad idea #143 was all hers!
Laura works in her attic studio in the Kansas City, Missouri, home she shares with her husband, Jeff, and their three dogs. Besides writing and illustrating children’s books, A adjunct instructor at the Art Institute, she teaches illustration and is also involved in several community art projects and children’s art workshops.
Sources:
Illustrator website
Illustrator biography: MB Artists
Also illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith:
A Farmer’s Life for Me by Jan Dobbins. Barefoot Books. 2013.
The Adventures of Granny Clearwater & Little Critter by Kimberly Willis Holt. Henry Holt. 2010.
The Goodnight Train by June Sobel. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 2006.
Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum by Lisa Wheeler. Little, Brown and Company. 2004.
Violet’s Music by Angela Johnson. 2004.
The Recess Queen by Alexis O’Neill. Scholastic. 2002.
read more!
Felicity Floo Visits the Zoo by E.S. Redmond
Felicity Floo goes to the zoo and doesn’t cover her mouth when she sneezes. ACHOO! The hyenas start crying, the rhino turns green, and still Felicity won’t wash her hands. After touching the animals with her gooey hands, the whole zoo gets the Floo flue!
Jack and the Giant Barbecue by Eric A. Kimmel
Jack is determined to get back his daddy’s stolen barbecue recipe book. Climbing high into the clouds, Jack befriends a jukebox and steals back the cookbook from a giant who is overstuffed on ribs and sausages! In the chase that follows, the giant flattens all the mountains in Texas while Jack escapes riding the jukebox as a sled!
The Adventures of Granny Clearwater & Little Critter by Kimberly Willis Holt
The Clearwater family is heading west in their covered wagon when Granny and grandson Little Critter are jolted right out the back. As they try to catch up with the family, the two have a slew of wild adventures, including stomping a wild rain dance, cooking up a mess of prickly pear cactus, lassoing a desperado with her stockings, and panning for gold. But will they ever find the rest of the Clearwater gang?