Max, the Stubborn Little Wolf (Hardcover)

by Marie-odile Judes (Author), Bourre Martine (Illustrator) "Quick as a wink, when anyone asked Max what he'd like to be one day, the little wolf always said: I want to be a..." (more)
Key Phrases: big wolf, little wolf, Papa Wolf

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
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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• Reading level: Baby-Preschool
  
• 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
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• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #460,358 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
  
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• Also Available in: Unknown Binding  |  All Editions