The traditional tale gets turned upside down in this hilarious new version. Little Wolf is sick of the meals his mother makes each night. No matter how good her lamburgers or sloppy does, he can’t help wondering why the wolf family doesn’t eat Boy anymore. Father explains that Boy is just getting too hard to find, but that if Little Wolf ever sees one, his parents would be happy to catch it and cook it for him. On the way home from school, the odor of Three-Pig Salad inspires Little Wolf to hatch a devious plan. He runs home, yelling “Boy” all the way. His parents fruitlessly search all evening, and just as he’d planned, the dinner is ruined and the family ends up eating snacks instead. The same happens the following night. But then Little Wolf slips up—Father overhears him bragging about what he had done to a friend on the telephone. Father and Mother make a pact to ignore him the next evening. Unbeknownst to the little family, though, a Boy Scout troop just happens to be hiking through the woods. Try as he may, Little Wolf just can’t get his parents to pay him any attention, even though he is finally being truthful. Little Wolf’s high-top sneakers and hat, along with a sour look on his face, give him a little devil look that fits the storyline perfectly. Meanwhile, his parents are impeccably dressed—Father in button shoes, vest, bowtie, and bowler, Mother in a long dress and frilly apron. Pen-and-ink drawings are wonderfully detailed, especially in the big “chase” scene—the facial expressions really make the story and the illustrations come together. Bigger laughs and more detail than the original, along with the time-honored message that truthfulness pays, make this a wonderful addition to any fairy-tale collection. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-399-23578-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A book that will make young dog-owners smile in recognition and confirm dogless readers' worst suspicions about the mayhem caused by pets, even winsome ones. Sam, who bears passing resemblance to an affable golden retriever, is praised for fetching the family newspaper, and goes on to fetch every other newspaper on the block. In the next story, only the children love Sam's swimming; he is yelled at by lifeguards and fishermen alike when he splashes through every watering hole he can find. Finally, there is woe to the entire family when Sam is bored and lonely for one long night. Boland has an essential message, captured in both both story and illustrations of this Easy-to-Read: Kids and dogs belong together, especially when it's a fun-loving canine like Sam. An appealing tale. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-8037-1530-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
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