Carmen Martin Gaite, Little Red Riding Hood in Manhattan

When you see the title "Little Red Riding Hood," you're likely to think you know the story by heart. But what if we set it in modern times, and set the heroine in a big city—say, New York?

Little Red Riding Hood will be named Sarah, her grandmother will be a former music hall singer, the dark forest will be Central Park, and the wolf will appear in the guise of Mr. Wolfe, the king of pastries, who is hunting for the recipe for the best strawberry cake.

In the story told by Spanish writer Carmen Martín Gaite, the most important element of the classic fairy tale remains: the journey that little Sarah embarks on, full of difficulties and dangers, a journey into adulthood.