Into the Forest

Into the Forest (2004)
Anthony Browne



This story is about a little boy who is asked by his mother to bring cake to his sick grandmother.  There are two paths he can take to her house: through the forest or around it. The boy's mother tells him not to take the forest path, but in true child-like style, he rebels and takes a very twisted trip through the forest.  Along his travels, the reader and the boy come across many familiar fairy-tale characters, hidden in the back drops of the forest!  Some of these characters come out from behind the trees, and try to steal his cake, but the boy resists!  He also has the sneaking suspicion that someone...or something...is following him (reminiscent of "Little Red Riding Hood)!!  A unique thing about this book is that the majority of the illustrations are in black and white, while certain figures in the illustrations are in color!  I really liked this story because it was telling its own story, while using little elements of many different fairy-tales to help tell its own!  I really liked the illustrations as well.  I would use this book in my classroom as a writing activity.  Some writing prompts include: Write your own fairy-tale, What is scary in this book?, Make your own map of a path to and from yours and your grandma's house, etc.