The Wolf Who Cried Boy [Hardcover]

Bob Hartman (Author), Tim Raglin (Illustrator)

Book Description

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

In this irresistible reversal of the classic tale, we meet Little Wolf, who is tired of the same old dinners like Lamburgers and Sloppy Does. How he wishes his mother could serve a nice platter of his favorite dish-Boy! The only problem is that Boy is just too hard to come by these days. So what's the best way for rascally Little Wolf to get his parents all stirred up and postpone his boring dinner? By yelling, "BOY! BOY!" on his way home from school-sending his parents on a wild hunt all over the countryside! But how long will Little Wolf's trick work? And what will happen to him (and to dinner) when a real boy finally does come along?

Pictures by Tim Raglin

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When a spoiled Little Wolf pooh-poohs his Lamburger and Sloppy Doe dinner, Father Wolf dreamily recalls a true delicacy. There was a time when a clever wolf could snatch a shepherd boy off a hill, he muses, leaning back in his overstuffed easy chair. Why, there was nothing better than a steaming plate of Boy Chops... and some Boys-n-Berry Pie. He and Mother Wolf promise to cook the first boy their finicky son can find. Thereafter, Little Wolf teases his nostalgic parents by yelling, Boy! Boy! for kicks. By the time Little Wolf spies a dozen plump Scouts hiking through the forest, his folks don't believe him anymore. Hartman (Bible Bad Guys) names many storybook meals, including Three-Pig Salad (with bricks, straw and sticks) and Granny Smith Pie, but never explains why boys are such an elusive quarry. Raglin (The Thirteen Days of Halloween) pictures the wolves as rustic homebodies in old-fashioned clothes, and Little Wolf as a prankster in short pants. His fine-line pen-and-ink illustrations, which have the dense crosshatching of woodcuts, seem immobile despite the keyed-up activity. This glib reversal of The Boy Who Cried Wolf has its slapstick moments, but can't top Jan Fearnley's Mr. Wolf books for sinister hijinks. Ages 5-up.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-3-In this fractured Aesop's fable, Little Wolf longs for "boy" for supper rather than his mother's usual fare: Lamburgers, Sloppy Does, and Muskratatouille. When his parents promise that if a boy shows up, they'll track him down and cook him, Little Wolf puts it to the test right away by calling, "Boy!" which achieves the desired result of ruining dinner two nights in a row. His parents catch on and decide to ignore their son just as a pack of Boy Scouts shows up, with one even invading the den, much to Little Wolf's despair. Hartman's spare storytelling style is enhanced by Raglin's textured pen and colored-ink illustrations that are packed with nifty details: Little Wolf's high-tops, the wolf emblem on the scouts' flag, and the decor of the wolf den. A fun twist on a traditional tale.
Donna L. Scanlon, Lancaster County Library, PA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile (May 27, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399235787
• ISBN-13: 978-0399235788
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,363,630 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cute, March 4, 2004

By 

Erika Mitchell (E. Calais, VT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Wolf Who Cried Boy (Hardcover)

This is a cute story about a small wolf who hates his mother's cooking: lamb burgers, sloppy does, and chocolate moose. What the wolf really wants to eat is a boy. To avoid his mother's cooking one night, he tries the ploy of shouting "boy". It works- -his parents run out of the den in search of the boy and dinner is ruined. Of course, when a real boy actually appears in the neighborhood, the small wolf can't get a rise out of his parents, so he has to learn to eat lamb burgers after all. Some kids might find the book a bit scary, but for those who can handle the tension, it's a fun story. The book has about 1200 words.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, refreshing presentation of the famous fable, December 25, 2005

By 

Primadogga (Topeka, KS United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Wolf Who Cried Boy (Hardcover)

Writing is excellent and witty - one simply can't resist falling in love with a book that includes menu items such as "lamburgers" and "Granny Smith pie" - and the illustrations support it well. Better done than the run of the mill fairy tale parody, and thus far superior to the average fairy tale presentation.

The humor is invaluable when trying to stuff a moral down kids' throats - they respond relatively well to being reminded that they are crying "Boy!" (especially when presented comically) - and it also helps them relax and back away from the precipitating issue.

AND - it's a lot of fun to read aloud, especially if one hams up the voices. Highly recommended for (parents of) bright, lively kids, ages 3 and up.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll wolf it down!, September 4, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Wolf Who Cried Boy (Hardcover)

My daughter and I were lucky enough to discover this on the "new books" shelf at a local library, and it quickly became a favorite... a great twist on the original fable, combined with a hilarious fussy-eater subplot. We had to buy our own copy. The wordplay is delightful ("chipmunks and dip," "muskratatouille"), and the cheerfully sick sense of humor ("there was nothing better than a steaming plate of Boy Chops, a big Baked Boy-tato, and some Boys-n-Berry Pie") is exactly what kids love. The illustrations have a quaint, old-fashioned cartoon aspect which perfectly suits the story. I did think the ending was a bit quick and pat for such a rollicking and imaginative tale, but it seems ungracious to note even a minor flaw in a book that's so much fun.