Reviewed April 24, 2006.
Candlewick Press, Cambridge,
Massachusetts,
2005. 28 pages.
Available at Sembach Library
(E FOR).
The Wolf’s Story is a
delightful picture book in the tradition of The True Story of the Three Little
Pigs, by Jon Scieszka. In this
book, we
have the wolf of the Red Riding Hood story explaining that he was
completely
innocent, a victim of prejudice and misunderstanding.
He says, “I
did odd jobs for
the old woman. Called her Grandma. We
were close.”
“Every week,
the kid came,
with a big basket of toffee…. Me, I
didn’t like the kid being there. She never spoke to me.
She seemed
nervous. Can you believe that? When Little Red was there, I felt left out.”
And so it
continues. The poor, misunderstood wolf
explains how
Grandma was simply reaching for her best dress in the wardrobe, when
she
slipped and knocked herself out. The
wolf panicked, sure he’d be suspected. “It
looked bad. Not everyone
trusts a wolf. I thought they might
say
I’d done something bad to Grandma.”
You know how
it ends. The poor wolf lost part of his
tail to the
woodsman’s axe. He ends by offering to
do odd jobs for the reader. “No, please. Look
at me. Would
I lie to you?” The reader can
decide for himself if the
wolf’s story sounds plausible.
I love the
way a story told
from the “villain’s” perspective becomes a different story entirely. It’s a nice exercise for putting yourself in
someone else’s place, realizing that things look different from someone
else’s
viewpoint, and not being too quick to judge. Besides,
it’s fun! I’m still
not
sure I trust the wolf….
Book Reviews by Sondra Eklund
