Little Red Riding Hood Is Turning Heads Again

A new sequel to the classic story of Little Red Riding Hood finds its place among a select group of winning children's books on the 2011 KART Kids Book List

When Suzanne Morris at Kid-Lit-Reviews.com gave a starred review to Shaunda Kennedy Wenger's children's book in September and then wrote that it "deserves to win some awards" on Amazon, little did she know that her prediction would come true. Two months later, Wenger's book, Little Red Riding Hood, Into the Forest Again was selected from over 1000 entries for placement on the 2011 KART Kids Book list for middle school titles. The KART Kids Book List is assembled each year to introduce children's books with age appropriate content that are memorable and enhance the gift of learning as a child grows. Because Little Red is self-published, Wenger is especially pleased with the receiving the award. "This was one of my favorite books to write, and it has been one of my favorite books to share with young children. Earning this award tells me, that in a way, I did a few things right."

Wenger is not new to finding success in publishing. In 2003 The Book Lover's Cookbook, Recipes Inspired by Celebrated Works of Literature and the Passages that Feature Them, which she co-authored with Janet Kay Jensen, was a National Public Radio holiday gift pick. Five of her other children's books, which include Caterpillar Can't Wait, In Black Bear Country, Watch a Butterfly Grow, and Farm Stand Mystery, have found their way into the educational market through Benchmark Education and Richard C. Owen publishers. Her other self-published title for 2011, The Ghost in Me, inched its way up into the Top 25 on on a few of Amazon's Kindle lists for children's books in December. Of that success Wenger says, "The Ghost in Me is another fun title. It could be described as a collision between the hit TV show Ghost Adventures and Mary Rodgers' classic book, Freaky Friday. Kids are liking it."