In this powerful new body of poetry, Gilbert tells a contemporary verse version of one of the original didactic stories about missing and murdered girls/women; in a long history of this kind of violence against women--especially in earlier versions where "Wolf leapt upon Little Red Riding Hood and gobbled her up." Today the world is just as full of dangers for children and deeply entrenched lessons in gender roles are only beginning to unwind. Interweaving and layering poetry- Wolf, Nana, Scarlet, the Woodcutter, bear, the forest, lost and innocent children, crows, accidents, homelessness-echo off one another, creating a kaleidoscope of modern cautionary tales. But all is not angst, because "we've grown so, so tired of Wolf's story" and in the end find new ways to navigate the forest with hope instead of fear.