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There's A Wolf At The Door (2008)

by Zoe B. Alley(Favorite Author)
3.96 of 5 Votes: 4
ISBN
1596432756 (ISBN13: 9781596432758)
languge
English
genre
publisher
Roaring Brook Press
review 1: As the subtitle implies, this book is a retelling of five classic fairy tales from the Grimm’s school of thought, but what makes this different is that titular lupine dressed to the nines is the through-line connecting these five (usually stand alone) stories.Whereas in most fairy retellings, the wolf of “3 Little Pigs” fame is not necessarily be the SAME wolf from “Little Red Riding Hood” or the lesser known “Goslings” story.In this book, one wolf does it all, with some expected results, brought about in a new humorous bent.Well, for the reader, anyway…As you might guess from the cover credits, like the Grimm bros. original tales, this book’s a family affair between author Zoё B. and illustrator R.W. Alley, who’s illustrated the iconic Paddington Bea... morer (soon to be a motion picture later in 2014) and countless other books.The comic panel presentation is not a mere gimmick, but a clever and fun twist to the Grimm’s stories, and occasionally a subtle “4th wall breaking” snip of wit from our dapper anti-hero addressing the reader directly, a plot technique which sometimes puts me off as a reader but it works here.With R.W.’s delightfully old-fashioned style, Zoё B.’s lively text mixed with contemporary comic panel format is a winning combo, and is the picture book equivalent of the various “Shakespeare” graphic novels for older readers, making classics more accessible/appealing to the modern pre-reader, and a great early non-superhero alternative introduction to reading in comic/graphic novel format.When I first discovered this book years ago (when it first came out in 2008) the wolf’s outfit stayed with me for YEARS until I finally had the chance to get my own copy of the book a few weeks ago.Like I said in my review of “Big Mean Mike” this book took WAY longer to get crossed off my “To Be Read” list than I intended, but it was so worth the wait, and not only the book itself, This is one of those rare few anti-heroes I’d like to spend time with (and feed him something you can’t hunt for), or at the very least, I want his outfit!But that’s another story I’ll tell another time…-An abridged version of the original review from TalkingAnimalAddicts.com
review 2: I am hungry. I am resourceful. And I am on the prowl. What wolf could resist trying to capture those delectable Three Little Pigs? But, alas that house of bricks was much more trouble than they were worth. The Boy Who Cried Wolf proved to be more cunning than I anticipated and my plans for a lunch of lamb with mint jelly were foiled. Little Red Riding Hood was much more clever than I thought. But, one small girl is hardly a meal after all I have been through. Dressing in sheep's clothing seemed like a great plan, but pretending to be someone you're not sure is exhausting. What a hassle! It's been a looooong day. You know what they say, fifth time's a charm! These Seven Little Goslings seem like an easy target. Mmmm... goose dumplings! I'm sure this will be a snap... or will it? less
Reviews (see all)
Rocky
This is a really excellent book. I liked the way the stories continued on into each other.
aly
In a word: hilarious. Can't wait to see what my kids think of it.
altariel
To be reviewed post cybils
china
So pun--I mean fun!
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