Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China Summary & Key Insights

Ed Young's "Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China" reimagines the classic fairy tale, transplanting it to a vibrant, vividly illustrated Chinese setting. The story centers around a young girl named Sister, who lives with her grandmother in a rural village. Her grandmother, a wise and loving woman, sends Sister to her grandmother's house with a basket of treats – including delicious melon – as a surprise.

The journey is fraught with peril, not from a wolf, but from a cunning and deceptive tiger. This tiger, disguised as a charming old woman, intercepts Sister on her way to her grandmother's house. Unlike the European wolf, the tiger doesn't employ brute force. Instead, it uses deceptive charm and cunning manipulation. It feigns friendship, offering Sister rides and help, ultimately tricking her into divulging her destination and the contents of her basket.

The tiger reaches the grandmother's house first and, after consuming the grandmother, dons her clothing and waits to ambush Sister. When Sister arrives, she notices subtle inconsistencies – her grandmother's appearance is strangely altered, her voice sounds different, and her hands are unusually large. However, unlike the passive Little Red Riding Hood, Sister is clever and resourceful. Instead of succumbing to fear, she uses her wits to outsmart the tiger.

Sister subtly questions the tiger's strange behavior, noticing her unusually large eyes, hands, and teeth. She engages in a series of seemingly innocent questions, such as "Grandmother, what big eyes you have!" Each time, the tiger, blinded by its own arrogance and the expectation that Sister is as naive as the traditional Red Riding Hood, simply boasts about her features, revealing her true, monstrous nature. This exchange subtly highlights a key difference: Sister is not simply a victim, but an active participant in her own rescue.

The clever girl's inquiries eventually lead the tiger to reveal its identity, unintentionally revealing its weakness. Ultimately, Sister, drawing on her own resourcefulness and bravery, escapes the tiger's grasp, not through a huntsman's intervention but through her own quick thinking and courage. She cleverly uses her wits to get out of her peril, and the story ends with Sister and her grandmother safe and sound, highlighting the triumph of intelligence over brute strength.

The overarching themes of the story are the importance of family bonds, the power of resourcefulness and cleverness in overcoming adversity, and the subtle yet significant cultural differences in storytelling traditions. Young's vibrant illustrations further emphasize these themes, showcasing the beauty of Chinese culture and the strong bond between Sister and her grandmother. The story effectively demonstrates that survival isn't always about physical strength, but about wit, courage, and the ability to think critically.