My daughter and I have been reading Ursula Vernon’s Hamster Princess adventures for years. With each new book, I create a new doll pattern to share with you. Guess what? There is a new book in the series that tackles one of the more fantastic fairy tales, Harriet-style!
Little Red Rodent Hood is a fun-filled new adventure that follows Harriet as she meets a were-hamster (yes, I did say were-hamster!), and helps little Red who appears to be in trouble.
Don’t be alarmed. Were-hamsters are a kindly bunch, normally, and Grey is probably the nicest were-hamster you ever could meet. Normally. Where does the grandmother and the big bad wolf part of the fairy tale come in? Well, you really have to get the book for yourself to find out!
The big question is, “Who saves who,” and does Red actually need help in the end? Or, does she find the strength and courage within herself to face her troubles, with a bit of encouragement from our intrepid adventurer – Harriet!
Playset Craft
To assemble this cast of characters for your child to play with, the only new stuffed creature you need to sew is Grey, the were-hamster. This is actually easy. Just use a tan felt and the pattern for Harriet that I posted in our last Hamster Princes Review here. Cut two small circles of white felt to attach for the eyes, and then get out a black permanent marker. Now just color the hands, feet, and ears, and draw in the mask on his face. And you are done!
(You can also make Grey with your child and let them do the coloring part at the end to blacken the ears, hands, and feet.)
Now for Red. My daughter had an idea for us to show you how to turn any of your favorite stuffed animals into red, with a bit of red felt and a quick bit of sewing. That way your favorite stuffed animal can join in the story!
First step here is to lay your stuffed animal out on red felt that has been folded over, double thickness.
Then just cut around the back and over where the head is, making sure to leave an extra large border to accomodate the fact that your stuffed animal is 3D. For the same reason you need to leave a looong strip in the front of your stuffed animal so the cape can circle around its tummy. Then sew up the back to hood of the two pieces, and voila! You have a Red costume for your favorite stuffed animal!
Harriet can join Grey and Red and your child can play out scenes from the story. Better yet, you can play together!
Other reviews of Ursula Vernon books:
- Giant Trouble (Harpster doll craft)
- Whiskerella (Harriet doll craft)
- Interview with Ursula Vernon
BOOK DESCRIPTION
It’s Little Red Riding Hood as you’ve never seen her before in this funny, feminist spin on the fairy tale, from award-winning author Ursula Vernon
Most monsters know better than to mess with Princess Harriet Hamsterbone. She’s a fearsome warrior, an accomplished jouster, and is so convincing that she once converted a beastly Ogrecat to vegetarianism. So why would a pack of weasel-wolf monsters come to her for help? Well, there’s something downright spooky going on in the forest where they live, and it all centers around a mysterious girl in a red cape. No one knows better than Harriet that little girls aren’t always sweet. Luckily there’s no problem too big or bad for this princess to solve. 
In this sixth installment of her whip-smart Hamster Princess series, Ursula Vernon once again upends fairy tale tropes and subverts gender stereotypes to brilliant effect. This is a “Once Upon a Time” like you’ve never seen before.
AUTHOR BIO:
Ursula Vernon is a full-time author and illustrator whose work has won two Hugo Awards and been nominated for an Eisner. She loves birding, gardening, and spunky heroines, and thinks she would make a terrible princess. Ursula lives with her husband in Pittsboro, North Carolina.
