Customer Reviews

Wolf Story

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was introduced to this book through the Chinaberry catalog and my two sons, ages 4 and 6, laughed themselves sick while I was reading them aloud. We've lent it to everyone in the neighborhood, too. My kids love the zany story Michael's father tells and are as eager as Michael for the story to just GO ON! As a parent who's been in the father's position, trying to come up with a creative story off the cuff when I am tired, too--I loved the realistic parent-child relationship depicted in the book. VERY highly recommended! We've read it over & over. It's slender, so on the pricey side for a hardback, but worth it.

This is a story within a story about a boy who loves, even nags, his father to tell him tales. The father feigns resistance but always relents. He goes on to tell a long story in several sittings about a hen named rainbow, the wolf who tries to eat her, and the clever young boy who saves rainbow and catches the wolf.

Not only is the story line amusing and entertaining but Anthony Heald, who reads the story on the audiobook version, does an incredible job of changing voices and acting out characters an an engaging way.

My two boys who are ages 5 and 7 absolutely love this. We read hundreds of kids books and this one really stands out. We rarely buy audiobooks but in this case its well worth it.

Every year I read Wolf Story to my second graders and at the end of the year when I ask them their favorite chapter book read to them, Wolf Story is chosen every year to be the favorite. They love to follow the adventures of Rainbow and Michael. When you complete Chapter 1, the kids are hooked. They can not wait for the next day. I have even had kids who have been sick ask if I can re-read a chapter that they missed or if they can stay in at recess to read the missed chapter on their own.

Wolf Story is wonderfully written and captivating to young children. Every year I can not wait to read the book. I find myself anxious to share the next chapter.
When my own children have children, Wolf Story will be the book that I can share with them. I strongly recommend this book to every child and to every adult who enjoys reading to their children at bedtime.

This is the BEST read aloud book bar none. I never get tired of reading it to children and I have never met a child that did not love it. If you buy only one book to read to your child this year make this that one book. I am so glad to see it available again after being out of print for so long.

My favorite book as a child. My father read it to my brother and then to me, in chapters much like Michael's father tells him the story, until we were old enough to read it to him. It's so much a fairy tale but, at the same time, Michael's father loving him so much he creates this wonderful story off the top of his head combined with the father's slight impatience or perhaps the father and son's different priorities make it believable. The under-his-breath sarcasm/innuendo in the father's voice adds a little reality check for parents reading the book to their children. I am constantly on the look-out for this book so I can share it with my grandchildren (since I won't let go of my only copy) and my friends' children. I thought it was out of print and can't believe my good fortune in finding not only a printed copy, but an audiobook as well. I think this is the first thing in my childhood that really showed it was okay to think "outside the box". I could probably stand to re-read it more often to remind me of that early lesson and it's a good lesson for kids, too.

This is a nearly perfect read-out-loud book. I have shared this book several times with my daughters (now 10 and 12). I am looking forward to the time when I can begin to read it aloud to my three year old son. The story within the story (the struggle between the Wolf, Rainbow and the heroic farmer boy Jimmy) effortlessly keeps the children involved. The external story (the father and son inventing the animal adventure tale over several days) makes me laugh out loud with its sly humor and insight; the boy's missing shoe gets me every time. It's great to see that a reprint edition is available again.

Five-year old Michael is a demanding taskmaster, and his father must be creative to tell a wolf story within the constraints laid down by his son. For instance, the wolf must be named Waldo. A terribly fierce wolf named Waldo. Good natured teasing and realistic conversation make this the humorous and sweet story of a father and son who enjoy each other's company.

Wolf Story was one of the first read-aloud chapter books that really hooked my five year old son in to listening. William McCleery wrote this short tale with keen insight into the mind of young boys and what excites them. The story is funny, interesting, and ends much too quickly. Children are able to recognize themselves in the typical parent/child exchanges. The book also serves to preserve an innocence and purity in the imagination and experience of childhood. My son Gabriel and I urge you to read Wolf Story together with your children as soon as possible. You won't be sorry!

I am buying yet *another* copy of this book, as we no longer even pretend to lend it- nobody will give it back! This has been a favorite book since our youngest was 4. She's just turned 11, but when she's under the weather it comes out for another read. Every family- and certainly every 5 year old boy!- should have this as a bedtime storybook. Even the chapters are just the right length. Although the price has gone up n recent times, it is worth every penny- this is one you want to own.

It's a tough business to tell a child a favorite story again, and again, and again, both for the storyteller who's tired of telling it and for the child who has, like a true die-hard fan, grown into a very devoted yet demanding critic. The story must be told "just-so", exactly the same way it's been told before and at the same time fresh, new, and even better than ever. Wolf Story is a story about telling a story, and both a parent and their child will recognize themselves in 5-year-old Michael and his father as they share the ritual bedtime story, a story about a very nasty wolf named Waldo. Little Michael seems to "know" the story even before he's heard it, but he isn't altogether conscious of this. He knows it much better than the tale's storyteller/author, his father, and isn't shy at all offering suggestions when his father doesn't tell it right.

Guaranteed this clever book will have you both laughing out loud at times, but I was also very pleased to find an amusing children's book that manages to operate at different levels without the wisecracking or cynical tone so common in children's literature now. Children can easily see the story from the point of view of the father, of little Michael, the scary wolf and the little farmer boy, Jimmy, who stands up to him. This makes the story all the more delightful for them. What a treat!