Max, the Stubborn Little Wolf [Hardcover]

Marie-Odile Judes (Author), Bourre Martine (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Wolf fathers and sons are hunters. Everyone knows that--except Max, a little wolf who thinks hunting is mean and horrible. He wants to be a florist.

Papa Wolf can't imagine what Max likes about those good-for-nothing flowers. If the big wolf can't find a way to make his son become a hunter, he'll eat his heat--and he means it!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Max is a little wolf who knows exactly what he wants to be: a florist. His father, appalled, insists that Max will become a hunter, like every good wolf should. "But I don't like hunting," says Max (who, by the way, only likes "meat that you buy, but not meat that you hunt").

Poor papa. He has no idea what an impossible task he has ahead of him, matching wits with his single-minded young son: "If I don't manage to make you a hunter, my son, I'll eat my hat, I will!" This zealous carnivore consumes more than his hat before the week is through. As each ploy fails, and his son grows ever more resolute in his career goals, Papa Wolf finds himself submitting to his self-imposed penalties. Hats, pillows, not even Grandma's china is safe from this frustrated he-wolf.

Not since The Story of Ferdinand has there been a character so sweetly determined to march to the beat of his own drummer. Unconventional kids with ambitions all their own will rejoice in young Max's self-knowledge and be inspired by his fortitude in the face of almost overwhelming parental pressure. And parents will be happy to see that Max never resorts to rudeness or tantrums to get his way.

Martine Bourre's utterly charming illustrations are a perfect match for Marie-Odile Judes's warmly nuanced, gently repetitious text in their subtlety and clever detail: Mama and Papa's carved wolf bedstead, Max's ubiquitous toy sheep, and the sausages draped across the kitchen wall. We love this book! (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly

What if a little wolf told his father that instead of growing up to hunt and eat little animals, his fondest dream was to become a florist? In this French team's urbane reworking of the theme of the wayward son, Max stands up to his big bad wolf of a father without flinching: "Hunting is nasty, cruel, horrible. I will never be a hunter." Max doesn't want to be a vegetarianAhe likes a leg of lamb as much as the next wolf cubAhe simply would prefer to spend his time among the flowers. For the entire book, Max's father plots to rid his son of his predilection, but Max is proof against every ploy. The author pitches the book at least as much to grown-ups as to children; the father's energy drives the narrative forward, and perhaps parents will most appreciate the fellow's ham-fisted attempts to make a man, or a wolf, of his son. Bourre's ink-and-gouache paintings combine bristly ink-black wolf hair and whiskers with warm, incandescently lit interiors. Certain visual touches may strike readers as unmistakably Gallic, such as the pig in the thought balloon above the father's head, scored for carving ? la Escoffier, and the Provence-style country d?cor of the wolf family's home. The ending of the book is curiously abrupt (is the father ever reconciled to Max's wishes?), but Max's spunk and Bourre's beguiling illustrations more than compensate for the story's shortcomings. Ages 4-8. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (January 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060294175
• ISBN-13: 978-0060294175
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,120,602 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Max is a Winner!, April 4, 2001

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Max, the Stubborn Little Wolf (Hardcover)

Poor Papa Wolf! He just doesn't know what he's going to do about his son Max. Wolves are hunters...everyone knows that, even Max. But he doesn't care. He finds hunting mean and horrible. Max is a secure little wolf who knows his own mind and he's not going to be a hunter just because his Papa and all the other wolves hunt. When he grows up he's going to be a florist. He loves flowers. He loves the way they look and smell. He loves taking care of them. And nothing, not even his father's tricks, plans and bright ideas are going to shake his determination..... Marie-Odile Judes has written a terrific picture book, with a subtle message, that will have both kids and adults laughing out loud. Her easy to read and witty text is complimented by Martine Bourre's bright, expressive and detailed artwork and together they've authored a special story about knowing yourself and what will make you happy. Perfect for youngsters 4-8, Max the Stubborn Little Wolf will amuse and delight your whole family.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars what do you want to be when you grow up?, August 9, 2004

By 

Shelley Gammon "Geek" (Kaufman, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Max, the Stubborn Little Wolf (Hardcover)

Max is a wolf pup who lives with his parents. His mother doesn't say much, but his Papa Wolf wants Max to follow in his footsteps (or pawsteps) and be a hunter. Max says he likes the meat that his Papa buys at the store, but not the meat from animals he hunts, because "hunting is cruel and horrible."

Papa Wolf is mortified. On top of rejecting their way of life, this willful child has announced that he wants to be a florist when he grows up. He explains that from the profits from his flower shop, he will be able to buy all the food he needs so he won't need to hunt.

Papa Wolf never punishes his son, but he does go through many trials trying to convince him that hunting is the vocation he should "choose."

Max has a room filled with stuffed animals - animals he should be hunting, but instead he prefers to play with them. He is not only tender-hearted, but he stands up for what he believes in.

Papa Wolf is not happy with Max's ideals, but he copes with them in his own hilarious way.

The illustrations by Martine Bourre are absolutely to die for! Max looks so angelic and his father looks so frustrated and huffy-puffy. Papa Wolf is depicted on one page as awake all night (Mama wolf is sleeping with curlers in her hair/fur) and Papa Wolf has this wide-eyed frustrated look in his eye. I laughed out loud when I saw these illustrations, and the story will captivate young and old readers alike.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Max just wants to be himself, March 17, 2003

By 

Alex Facundo (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Max, the Stubborn Little Wolf (Hardcover)

Max is a little wolf that is growing up in a family of wolves. His whole family are all hunters like wolves should be. At least that is what his dad thinks. He wants Max to be a hunter because he thinks that is what wolves are made to be. Max has a different opinion. He thinks that hunting is the most horrible and mean thing there is. Max wants to be a florist when he grows up. This book sets a good example for kids to just be themselves and not what anyone else wants them to be. As children go through life, they will undergo many tests. They should try their hardest to try not to change when people try to get them to. Just like Max does. His father tries to get him to change in many different ways, but he just doesn't want to be a hunter. I think this is a great book for little children to read.