The Wolf Who Cried Boy - Softcover

Bob Hartman is a performance storyteller par excellence. He has been entertaining audiences on both sides of the Atlantic for over 15 years with his books and performances, which bring together retellings of Bible stories and traditional tales from around the world with his own imaginative stories. His books are full of humour and insight, whilst his storytelling sessions are exciting, engaging, dynamic - and above all, interactive! He is well-known for his hugely popular Lion Storyteller books, the Telling the Bible series and the highly acclaimed picture books The Wolf Who Cried Boy, Dinner in the Lions' Den and The Three Billy Goats' Stuff. Tim Raglin earned a degree from Washington University's School of Fine Arts in St Louis and immediately launched into the world of freelance illustration. Tim is also involved with a children's video production company, where he writes, illustrates and directs his own films, and has won a Grammy Award for Best Children's Recording. Tim has also won a silver medal from the New York Society of Illustrators, a Reader's Choice Award (for The Wolf Who Cried Boy) and a Parent's Choice Award (for Bill in a China Shop).

*Starred Review* Reviewed with Gail Carson Levine's Betsy Who Cried Wolf!

PreS.-Gr. 2. Two funny turns on a familiar tale: Hartman's twists species; Levine's twists gender.

In The Wolf Who Cried Boy, Little Wolf wishes for something besides lamburgers and sloppy does for dinner. Actually, he'd prefer boy. Father agrees that if Little Wolf finds one, he can eat it. So the next day, to avoid another boring dinner, Little Wolf screams, "Boy!" His parents run, sniff, and search, but don't find a boy. Little Wolf thinks that's so funny, he pulls the same trick again, and his parents catch on. When Little Wolf sees a troop of boy scouts, he can't believe his eyes. Of course, his parents don't believe him--even when a scout makes himself at home on the wolves' couch. Unlike fractured fairy tales that rely simply on premise, this one finds humor in the details, in both the story (Granny Smith pie featuring a "hard, crusty" granny) and the art (the mischievous scout, emboldened by the wolves' disbelief). Raglin's sturdy pen-and-ink pictures, which soar above their cartoon styling, are electric with fun.

In Betsy, the illustrations are also more than simply amusing. Nash uses balloon captions for his sheep to express their thoughts about Betsy, the new eight-year-old shepherd. Betsy is determined to be the best shepherd ever, but Zimmo the wolf has another plan. Betsy spots Zimmo, who has all the characteristics on the wolf checklist, but he disappears when the grown-ups show up to check him out. The next time that happens, Betsy is sent back to shepherd school. The third time, Betsy deals with him herself and makes him a friend with her shepherd pies. The pacing slows a bit at the end, but there are some laugh-aloud moments and children will identify with the feisty, young shepherd. There's a glow and a flow to the pictures that add shine to the story. Ilene Cooper
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