The Red Wolf [Hardcover]

Margaret Shannon (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Roselupin has had quite enough of being locked away in her tower room. Her father the king thinks he needs to protect her from the wild and dangerous world outside, but Roselupin knows better. So when she receives a mysterious gift on her seventh birthday, Roselupin uses it as her ticket out of the tower and into the woods, where she howls and dances all day long—and surprises the kingdom folk right out of their socks. Twice.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Locked in a tall, stony tower by her overprotective father, little princess Roselupin longs to venture into the "wild and dangerous" world. So when she receives a mysterious golden box full of yarn for her seventh birthday, Roselupin takes matters--and knitting needles--into her own hands. She knits herself a magical red wolf suit, and, suddenly grown gigantic, bursts out of her tower into the wild world. Free at last, our newly furry heroine dances "her wolfy dance" and howls "her wolfy howl." It's only when she heads deep into the forest that her adventure begins to unravel.

Margaret Shannon's tale has a deliciously Where the Wild Things Are flavor, with its own fresh twist. The image of a giddy, gigantic, cherry-red wolf frolicking over the trees near the kingdom is utterly unforgettable, as are the beautiful spreads showing Roselupin shrinking into the darkening forest, followed by a red thread. An understated surprise ending will either bemuse or gratify readers, who will cheer at the princess's hard-earned freedom, regardless. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly

A canny seven-year-old princess and a trunkful of knitting wool bring down the house or, more accurately, the castle tower in this cleverly told tale. Locked up by her father to protect her from the dangers of the world, the princess Roselupin knits her magic birthday yarn into a fuzzy red wolf suit. "If the world's too wild for the likes of me,/ Then a BIG RED WOLF I'd rather be," she says. Becoming a red wolf so big she bursts right out of her tower, Roselupin revels in a day (and night) of freedom. But the next morning, in a development explained only in the illustrations, a thread catches on a twig and the princess's suit unravels. Captive again, the imperturbable Roselupin uses more yarn to knit her father "a rather mousy-looking pair of pajamas." The final picture shows a forlorn mouse in a crown gazing out the window as Roselupin runs to join a circle of children in the town square. Shannon's (Gullible's Troubles) antic mixed-media art will have readers howling, too; in one spread, the gargantuan wolf revels in a dazzling selection of baked goods offered by courtiers who seem lilliputian by comparison. The old-world castle town and the dark forest are the stuff of classic fairy tales, but Shannon's sly humor and resourceful heroine are eminently her own. Ages 4-8.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company (March 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618055444
• ISBN-13: 978-0618055449
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,505,948 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Your Average Princess In a Tower, May 1, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Red Wolf (Hardcover)

This is a marvelously odd and subversive book. The princess' capacity to make change happen, all on her own, and in defiance of parental authority, gives the book a very special flavor. Plot aside, just enough is said and not said that there is room for children to fill in the blanks themselves, and I have found that kids (both boys and girls) ask questions and want hear it again after they have thought about it for a few days. This is not a neat and tidy traditional fairy story and I expect some parents might find this book too much off the beaten path, but I thought it was great and will be giving copies to several little girls I know.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lush and different, July 30, 2003

By 

Christine Prado "Jazzernoirist" (Clemson, SC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Red Wolf (Hardcover)

I bought this book because I heard them review it on NPR. It was not a disappointment. The drawings do have a Sendak feel to them, but they are freer and looser than the tight ink drawings in Where the Wild Things Are. The story has a different twist to it. One thing I love about it is that instead of the princess being focused on getting a man, this princess yearns for freedom and a chance to play. That's a nice change of pace from all the Cinderellas and Sleeping Beautys and I think teaches a better lesson. This is my second copy, because my niece discovered this one day while playing here and fell in love with it immediately.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If the world is too wild for me, then a big red wolf I'll be, June 10, 2003

By 

Preston McClear, Author The Boy Under the Bed - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Red Wolf (Hardcover)

The Red Wolf , by Margaret Shannon, is a wonderful twist on the princess locked alone in a tower story. A young princess is locked away in a high tower by her father the king. Being the king's only daughter he fears for her safety and feels locking her away is the best way to protect her. One day the lonely princess receives a gold box with nothing inside of it but knitting needles and balls of colored thread. A note inside the box reads, "Knit what ever you like." The princess knits herself a red suit. When the princess puts on the red suit she turns into a red wolf. The princess grows bigger and bigger, until finally she bursts out of the tower. No one in the kingdom
recognizes her. Even the king thinks his daughter has been eaten by the big red wolf. Enjoying her new found freedom the princess dashes off; stomping all about and doing just what she pleases. The princess enters the forrest. When part of her wolf suit gets
caught on a tree and begins to unravel (As the wolf suit unravels she grows smaller and smaller) the princess disappears. Later she is found sleeping under a tree and promptly
locked back up in a brand new tower. Not to worry though, in the end the princess knits a special suit for the king. When the king puts on the gift from his daughter, he turns into a mouse. In the final illustration of the book the princess is going off to play while the king looks on from the tower. The illusrations are magnificient and the story is delightfuly told. I especially loved the description of the princess dissappearing into the trees when her wolf suit unravels. I give The Red Wolf an A +.

Preston McClear...