It's So Nice to Have a Wolf Around the House [Hardcover]

Harry Allard (Author), James Marshall (Author)

Book Description

Cuthbert Q. Devine tries to hide the fact that he is a wolf with a shady past by becoming the companion to a kind old man and his pets.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Cuthbert Q. Devine might look like a wolf, but the Old Man liked his big bright smile. The Old Man hired Cuthbert to help him and his old pets around the house. At once Cuthbert's cheery presence made the little house a happier place, and the Old Man and his pets felt years younger. Life was going well until a newspaper headline threatened to change everything! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

Cuthbert Q. Devine might look like a wolf, but the Old Man liked his big bright smile. The Old Man hired Cuthbert to help him and his old pets around the house. At once Cuthbert's cheery presence made the little house a happier place, and the Old Man and his pets felt years younger. Life was going well until a newspaper headline threatened to change everything! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (September 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385113005
• ISBN-13: 978-0385113007
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 7.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,331,912 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Allard is the author of several hilarious books for children. He currently lives in Oaxaca, Mexio.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The moral of "people labels", June 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: It's So Nice to Have a Wolf Around the House (Paperback)

As a child, I remember reading Harry Allard and James Marshall's "It's So Nice to Have a Wolf Around the House," and feeling a deep sympathy for the main character, Cuthbert Q. Divine. All children can learn from this lovely children's tale that teaches the danger of quick assumptions. Although Cuthbert is a fugitive from the law, it is obvious that this is not the life he wants. Despite all of the stereotypes about wolves, Cuthbert truly loves the Old Man and his pets with no ulterior motive involved--"all he wanted to do was make the old man and his three pets happy." In fact, the Old man and his pets seem happier than ever when Cuthbert is around, as he takes care of all the chores while, at the same time, making the house a funloving place to live in. Cuthbert makes fancy desserts and organizes costume parties. When the Old Man discovers that Cuthbert is actually a wolf disguised as a the German Shepard he hired as his "charming companion", he feels betrayed and frightened. However, upon this confrontation, it is Cuthbert who is "pale and shaking." In fact, when faced with his sordid past, Cuthbert faints. In a sorrow-evoking mini-monologue, Cuthbert reveals that he's always wanted to be good but no one expected him to be, as he was a wolf. This is representative of many children today who feel as if they have a "label." In many schools, there is a "bully" who it seems never does anything kind or good. In so many fairy tales, wolves are depicted as a wholly evil and manipulative species. So, by Cuthbert breaking free of the stereotype his race of creatures elicits, a moral shines through for our children: Always be who you want to be, not who people think you are.

5.0 out of 5 stars It's so nice to have this book on your shelf, January 25, 2009

By 

Steffanie Elmer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: It's So Nice to Have a Wolf Around the House (Paperback)

This book is one of my favorites. The illustrations are terrific. Each of the characters in this book choose to help each other through hard times and end up happy and healthy in the end.

2 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Forgiveness as disregard for wrongdoing, July 14, 2006

By 

R. Bramwell "Never expose a child to the irra... - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: It's So Nice to Have a Wolf Around the House (Paperback)

It is true that the wolf seeks to make the Old Man's household happy. But, do guilt offerings by wrongdoers help the victim if they are offered to someone else? Of course not. Yet, by having readers sympathize with the wolf, Allard makes it seem acceptable.

The fact is the wolf has done harm, and this story whitewashes his actions in utter disregard for his victims. This is the intellectual "blank out" that the Left has used to give criminals a second chance with no regard for the damage they have done, or may repeat*.

Justice necessarily includes retribution &/or restitution. The wolf must fix his past by repaying his debts properly, otherwise he simply "gets away with it", as all criminals would like. (E.g. "I will kill my wife, and then be good for ever after.")

Allard is apparently so uninterested in this necessary principle of justice that he is willing to engage children in its subversion.

People wonder why today's youth seem so lacking in morality! It's because the adults are lacking in morality.

*This seems to be a popular notion with the courts these day.