Mahogany: A Little Red Riding Hood Tale

A clever, Black contemporary twist on Little Red Riding Hood, Mahogany embraces the beauty--and magic--within herself to thwart the Big Bad Wolf.

Mahogany is a spunky girl who loves to sew, listen to music, and wear fresh kicks. On the way to deliver homemade honey cornbread to Grandma’s house, she encounters a hungry wolf. Because Mahogany is clever, she stands by a willow tree, where her long, black curly hair blends with the branches. She hides in the forest, where her ebony skin merges with the shadows. And Mahogany knows the lavender scent of her skin will mix with the smells of flowering plants, tricking any wolf nose.

Ultimately, Mahogany’s Blackness, her wits, and her sewing skills all save her in this refreshing, celebratory, and innovative retelling.

JaNay Brown-Wood is an early childhood professor and the author of several books for children, including Grandma’s Tiny House, Imani’s Moon, and Shhh! The Baby’s Asleep. She also contributed to the poetry anthologies Thanku: Poems of Gratitude and No World Too Big . Much of JaNay’s work is intended to celebrate casual diversity, primarily featuring Black characters. JaNay lives in California.

John Joven is the illustrator of The Plan for the Gingerbread House and Preschool, Here I Come!. He grew up in Bogotá, Colombia, and studied graphic design at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. He still lives there with his wife, Ana, and two children, Avril and Ian. When not illustrating, he enjoys spending quality time with his children, playing soccer with his friends, watching movies, and traveling.
johnjoven.com