The Little Red Fort
Written by Brenda Maier, Illustrated by Sonia Sánchez

Publisher’s Summary:
Ruby wants to build a fort, but her three brothers refuse to help, so when the fort is finished Ruby will not let them join her–until the boys come up with a few embellishments for the fort, like a mailbox, a garden, and a fresh coat of paint.

Primary Source Pairing:
In an informative and reflective Author’s Note, we learn Brenda Maier was inspired by her children to create this version of the classic folktale. For this primary source pairing, invite students to study an early cover of the folktale artistically adapted by Florence White Williams. Pull copies of the other versions of “The Little Red Hen” folktale that Maier references in her Author’s Note and share with students as instructional time allows. From my experience, if there is not time to read additional texts during storytime, I offer these read-alikes to students during book check out. This is a great way to promote the library collection and increase circulation.

Questions for Discussion:

• What do you notice first?
• What people and objects are shown?
• How are they arranged?
• What is the physical setting?
• What’s happening in the image?
• What is similar about the book covers? What is different?

Credits:
“The Little Red Hen” by Florence White Williams: Wikipedia
Book Cover and Summary: Follett