{"id":34070,"date":"2018-03-24T22:45:33","date_gmt":"2018-03-25T02:45:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=34070"},"modified":"2018-03-24T22:45:33","modified_gmt":"2018-03-25T02:45:33","slug":"review-of-when-a-wolf-is-hungry-by-christine-naumann-villemin-illustrated-by-kris-di-giacomo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=34070","title":{"rendered":"Review of When a Wolf Is Hungry, by Christine Naumann-Villemin, illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>When a Wolf Is Hungry<\/em><\/p>\n

by Christine Naumann-Villemin
\nillustrated by Kris Di Giacomo<\/p>\n

Eerdman\u2019s Books for Young Readers, 2017. 32 pages.<\/p>\n

I have a thing for books where someone gets eaten<\/a> \u2013 or eating gets thwarted<\/a>. When a Wolf Is Hungry<\/em> falls into the latter category.<\/p>\n

This is a book for sophisticated readers \u2013 more for elementary school readers than preschoolers. What\u2019s going on is subtle, and a lot of fun when we finally see what\u2019s happening. Here\u2019s how it begins:<\/p>\n

One Sunday morning, Edmond Bigsnout, lone wolf, left his home in the woods with a great big knife in his paw.<\/p>\n

Edmond had a hankering for some rabbit.<\/p>\n

Not just any ordinary cottontail, though. What he craved was a grain-fed, silky-haired rabbit, one with just a hint of sweetness. A city bunny.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So Edmond heads into the city.<\/p>\n

He stopped in front of a tall apartment building.
\nHe checked the names next to the buzzers and found exactly what he was looking for:
\nMax Omatose, miniature rabbit
\n5th floor<\/p>\n

Oh, Edmond was so happy!
\nWith the point of his knife,
\nhe pressed the button for the elevator.
\nDing!<\/p>\n

Inside the elevator, he set down the knife and adjusted his bow tie.
\n(Just because a wolf is hungry, that doesn\u2019t mean he can\u2019t be fashionable.)<\/p>\n

But of course, he forgot his knife in the elevator.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A turkey finds the knife in the elevator and says it\u2019s just what she needs to cut this cake. So when Edmond comes back, it\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n

So he returns to try again with a chainsaw \u2013 and a bear asks to borrow it to trim a hedge on the roof. Similar fate befalls a rope, a big pot, and his barbecue grill. That one is borrowed by a lovely young wolf who thinks he\u2019s a new neighbor.<\/p>\n

When he\u2019s had too much and decides to just eat the rabbit with some mustard, there\u2019s a note on the rabbit\u2019s door saying \u201cI\u2019m on the roof.\u201d When the wolf reaches the roof, he finds all the apartment residents he encountered before, including the lovely young wolf. He finds out why they wanted to borrow his things \u2013 and let\u2019s just say he makes some new life choices.<\/p>\n

This one isn\u2019t laugh-out-loud funny, but it\u2019s understated and lovely and a happy ending for everyone.<\/p>\n

krisdigiacomo.com<\/a>
\nEerdmans.com\/youngreaders<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Picture_Books\/when_a_wolf_is_hungry.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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