Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #120941 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-30
• Released on: 2008-09-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 40 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781596432758
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From School Library Journal
Grade 2–4—Encountering three little pigs, a hungry wolf is unable to persuade Alan, Gordon, or Blake to let him into their houses. Seeking greener pastures, he sneaks up on Barry, a lonely shepherd in "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," but luckily his wisecracking sheep know how to handle wolves. Rhonda, otherwise known as Little Red Riding Hood, may be willing to discuss fashion with the wolf in the woods but soon realizes that "being well dressed doesn't excuse rude behavior" to her Granny. The animal barely escapes, clad only in Granny's fluffy white rug. As "The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing," he has another unsuccessful try at Barry's resourceful flock. He gets his clothes back just in time to reenact "The Wolf and the Seven Little Goslings," all of whom are named and loaded with personality. This hilarious romp ends with the very hungry wolf noticing a sign to Farmer McGregor's garden and contemplating a vegetarian lifestyle. Illustrated with softly colored pen-and-ink drawings, these five stories meld seamlessly together. The text is full of puns, alliteration, and occasional rhymes. Contemporary sensibilities, such as Rhonda's fixation on fashion and the counseling style of Barry's sheep, are priceless additions. The oversize format and the graphic-novel style make this retelling perfect for independent reading as well as for group sharing.—Mary Jean Smith, Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN
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From Booklist
*Starred Review* Poor Wolf. He travels through five tales in sartorial splendor—“The Three Little Pigs,” “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” “The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing,” and “The Wolf and the Seven Little Goslings—but never manages to satisfy his hunger. Each of Wolf’s intended meals trickily turns the kitchen table on him, leaving Wolf considering vegetarianism as he contemplates the sign pointing the way to Farmer McGreger’s sic garden. While the stories’ narrative paths tend to follow the originals, now they’re layered with humor. The transitions between tales, visual and verbal, extend the fun, while dialogue balloons with pithy commentary (and adaptable font size) enrich the tongue-in-cheek narrative Cannily designed, this oversize comic book features traditional cartoon boxes, but they often morph into shapes to suit the action. The cocky personalities of both animal and human characters are cleverly detailed in watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations that have a buoyant appeal. This is a giggly read-aloud as well as a snortingly funny read-alone. Hand it to the transitional or reluctant reader and listen for the laughs. Grades K-3. --Janice Del Negro

Review

Customer Reviews

Wolves and humans too
I admit it. I tend to root for the well-dressed baddies. I always have. When I was a child I would secretly root for Captain Hook over that snide, arrogant Peter Pan boy. And Cruella de Ville? Sure, I couldn't support her love of puppy-wear, but that lady knew how to wrap a stole, that's for sure. So when I see a villain with a certain personal flair and sense of style, I feel an odd sort of sympathy and connection. A sympathy and connection that definitely came up more than once while reading "There's a Wolf at the Door" by Zoe and R.W. Alley. Expertly weaving together five different fairy tales with a single (unlucky) villain, Alley & Alley create a product that's part picture book, part graphic novel, and all amusement from start to finish.

Little known fact: You know that wolf that pops up in The Three Little Pigs? How about the one in The Boy Who Cried Wolf or Little Red Riding Hood? Would you believe that it was a same guy who also appears in The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing or The Wolf and the Seven Little Goslings? Turns out that this wolf has had a fairly rough and tumble day. After losing out his delicious pig dinner the furry fop tries his hand at a boy and his sheep. When the sheep prove to be smarter than the boy (no great feat) the wolf moves on to Little Red (getting a snoutful o' shoe), the sheep again (in disguise), and a houseful of goslings. Each time the wolf is thwarted in his attempts, finally deciding on a life of peaceful vegetarianism... and potential thrashing at others' hands.

We are definitely dealing with five distinct fairy tales here (with some double backing for good measure) so you may feel a little bit surprised when you find that there are only 34 pages of text here from start to finish. It feels like a whole lot more, and that may have a lot to do with the sheer amount of material Alley & Alley have been able to cram in. For one thing, you're looking at a 14-inch book that's taller than its average 10-inch fellows. On top of that is the whole comic paneling appeal. You can work in a ton of text and dialogue if you've a panel or two to place them in. So while it might remain as trim and slim as any other book found in a picture book collection "There's a Wolf at the Door" makes for a long read. Bear this in mind when your canny kidlets attempt to coerce you in reading the whole thing before beddy bye.

R.W. Alley's illustrations first came to my attention when he took the helm of the Paddington illustrated empire. His recent work on "Paddington Here and Now" so perfectly captured the little Peruvian bear's personality and charm that I was utterly thrilled to find his name gracing the cover of this book too. The choice to make it a comic was unexpected. Due to the sheer amount of text I suppose it could have gotten away as a young reader or early chapter book. But this suits it better, I think. There aren't any wordless passages, which I found interesting. Usually a graphic format will allow its artist a little leniency once in a while. A chance to stretch their artistic muscles. And while I enjoyed the cut aways and select panels, I did wish that there had been a bit more change in terms of angles of perception. It seems to me that everything in this book happens dead on. You rarely see things from anything but the side of the action. How much cooler it would be to look down on things or to watch them from below. Ah well. A quibble, a quibble.

I've heard Ms. Alley's storytelling compared to the snarkiness one would find in a "Shrek" movie. Honestly, I don't think that this is the case. Yes, the book attempts to rejigger the storylines of individual tales by adding a whole host of different personalities into the mix. Now the Boy Who Called Wolf has attention issues and his sheep are prone to touchy feely displays of emotion. Little Red is a fashion maven (which gives her something in common with the wolf) and the three pigs are pretty much par for the course. I was fine with most of these changes, though I found the inclusion of the story The Wolf and the Seven Little Goslings to be one tale too many. Street smart goslings aren't my cuppa tea, you see.

Librarians may wonder whether or not the book can be read aloud to large groups of kids in its current format. And the answer is . . . maybe. It's certainly not impossible, and the advantage to a title this tall is that it will read far better across a room than similar picture book/comic titles like the wordless "The Red Book". Even so, the sheer length of the thing suggests that this would be better suited to good old-fashioned one-one-one reads.

It might be a good idea to read "There's a Wolf at the Door" with a child and then follow that reading up with Mei Matsuoka's equally canny and lupine-centric "Footprints in the Snow", for a full-on wolf to wolf readaloud experience. Both books offer a pretty sympathetic view of the plight of the antagonist (and his empty belly). Wolves are some of the best villains in humankind's history so it's nice to see Alley & Alley giving us a new way of looking at this dapper scourge in a new presentation. Big. Brassy. A beaut.