Wolf Christmas [Hardcover]

Daniel Manus Pinkwater (Author), Jill Pinkwater (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up

On the longest night of the year, a family of wolves takes a run through the woods to see the unusual sight of a human family’s Christmas celebration.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2?After waking up from a winter's nap, a family of wolves anticipate a visit from Uncle Louis, a funny relative who likes to share interesting adventures with the young pups. Stinkface, the young narrator, relates how on this particular night, Louis shows them something special. With him, they bound through the woods, stopping on a hillside above a small village. There, they observe colored lights, smell various scents, and hear singing, obvious evidence of a Christmas celebration. At the conclusion, while listening to the human voices, the wolves begin to sing (howl), too. Stinkface concludes, "We didn't see the humans, but we could hear them. They were singing. We listened. It was nice. I thought, Even if they were dangerous, they are animals, just like we are." The childlike felt-marker illustrations convey the playfulness and camaraderie of the wolves in their snowy nighttime habitat, but the text is unconvincing. The sudden anthropomorphizing of Stinkface's perspective, the sly but too tenuous connection with Christmas, and the vapid conclusion do not ring true. Most children will be left out in the cold.?MMH
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 4^-8. An offbeat solstice tale from the master of the offbeat is marvelously matched by his wife's distinctive felt-pen illustrations. Three wolf pups wake on the longest night of the year to gambol in the snow, delighted when their father announces the imminent arrival of Uncle Louis. Poppa Wolf notes that Uncle Louis "is not a serious wolf" but agrees to let him lead the pups and the adults off to see a human village, bedecked with holiday finery and full of the sound of humans singing. The wolves sing, too, and our "pretty little wolf" narrator notes that the humans "are animals, just like we are." The author works wolf habits and lore into the simple dialogue, as the wolves nuzzle and play with each other, and the illustrator gives each wolf a distinctive look and personality, from big, black Uncle Louis to silvery Aunt Fang. The wolves, the snow, and the night sky make wonderful patterns on the pages, and the playful, anthropomorphic text will cheer and amuse. GraceAnne A. DeCandido

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Childrens Books (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761450300
• ISBN-13: 978-0761450306
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 8.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,324,636 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Daniel Pinkwater lives with his wife, the illustrator and novelist Jill Pinkwater, and several dogs and cats in a very old farmhouse in New York's Hudson River Valley.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a howl, May 3, 2000

By 

Edward Hume (Princeton, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wolf Christmas (Hardcover)

Daniel tells a simple story; Jills illustrates it with silly wolf antics, straight from real life. This family of wolves I love. The night was fine, and they went out to spy on the humans. The end was . . . perfect. Read it and see.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wolves watching humans, December 19, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Wolf Christmas (Hardcover)

a cute tale of a wolf pack as they play and come to observe humans on christmas

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best short short children's stories ever written, May 7, 2011

By 

bingo - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wolf Christmas (Hardcover)

A perfect, flawless very short story, beautifully written, with an ending that in a few words manages to be quite moving. If you love great books, get this one. It will surely become a classic, and you'll probably have to spend a lot to get a copy in future.