CLOAKED IN RED

Laural Merlington, what big talent you have! All the better to narrate these imaginative retellings of “Little Red Riding Hood.” While the characters are essentially the same in each of the eight recreations, their personalities vary from story to story, giving Merlington the difficult task of making the same characters sound entirely different. She’s not only up to the challenge, she handles it exceptionally well. Depending on the tale, she manages to make Red sound innocent and unsure, coquettish and boy crazy, or even dim-witted. Her voice is smooth and sweet when portraying a matronly version of Granny and gruff and scratchy when depicting a Granny who has transformed into a werewolf. M.D. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2012]