For your youngest fairy tale fans, these board books are not so much retellings as they are lively visual adventures. Each two-page spread offers a colorful cartoon illustration accompanied by one or two thematic words like "Girl," "Prince," or "Magic Wand." When sharing the book with a prereader, these words become prompts for the storyteller to tell it their own way, and may help with early word-recognition skills. The little books are charming as well, with glittering embossed covers.

It starts with a "Girl," a "Hood," and a "Basket" of course, but all of the usual gobbling up is unspoken and unseen here (though you can include it if you wish), and for once, we get to see our heroine returning home.