Ruby

In this takeoff on ``Little Red Riding Hood,'' Ruby the mouse reluctantly agrees to carry a bag of triple-cheese pies across town to her granny. She dons her red hooded coat and takes to the densely populated and litter-clogged city streets. Ruby ignores her mother's advice not to read as she walks, and soon bumps into ``a grimy-looking reptile whose hot breath smelled very much like dirty gym socks.'' Of sterner mettle than her fairy-tale predecessor, Ruby tells him, ``Buzz off, barf breath.'' This sets the tone for their less than refined exchange, which is interrupted by a nattily dressed, ``velvety-voiced'' cat who offers to escort Ruby to her grandmother's house. When she insists on continuing alone, the hungry cat hops into a taxi and races to granny's, hoping to make a meal of the two mice--as well as granny's neighbor. The villain's plan is foiled, of course, but by a subtly narrated stratagem that may elude preschoolers. Readers on the older end of the intended age spectrum will better appreciate Emberley's somewhat sophisticated humor, as well as the detailed pictures of the city residents--amusingly preoccupied animals projecting a wide variety of attitudes. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)