Little Good Wolf

by Susan Stevens Crummel (Author) Janet Stevens (Illustrator)

Little Good Wolf
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

From the beloved creators behind Tops and Bottoms comes a fractured fairytale about a wolf who is so good, it's bad. Will he ever fit in with his family of Big Bad Wolves? Or will he show everyone that sometimes it's best to honor who you are?

Little Good Wolf does not fit in with his family. No matter what Papa Wolf and Mama Wolf try, he is always cleaning his room or even playing with piggies! They have no choice but to send him to Bad School to learn to be a big, bad wolf.But Little Good Wolf's teachers think he's hopeless, too. Wicked Stepmother cannot get him to be selfish, and Mr. Troll cannot teach him how to be rude. Will he ever be bad enough? Or just maybe, there is a way to be a wolf while being good?

Populated with expertly rendered fairy tale characters and infused with delightful madcap fun, this celebration of self-acceptance is an instant crowd-pleaser.

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Hardcover
$17.99

Kirkus

Not just good—great!

Publishers Weekly

What happens when an irrepressibly good-hearted wolf is born into a lupine family of the big bad variety? Little Good Wolf, his mother says disgustedly, "cleans his room. He brushes his teeth. He even reads bedtime stories by himself!" So his snappish parents send him to the Big Bad School, a dodgy institution rife with bad puns ("Prince A. Bull" oversees the education), gross-out humor ("Eat it fast so you can buuurrrrp!" says a troll instructor, demolishing a pizza), and more. Throughout his lessons, Little Good Wolf makes suggestions that lend themselves to order and cheer ("You could light a cake full of birthday candles," he says to a fire-breathing dragon), quickly resulting in his expulsion. In a strongly felt fairy tale remix about a child who just wants his parents to love him as he is, all the over-the-top resistance Little Good Wolf endures makes his anodyne suggestions winningly palatable. Previous collaborators Crummel and Stevens (The Donkey Egg) cram each page with raillery and nonsense (when Little Good Wolf is happily reunited with his parents, they insist they've reformed: "I combed my teeth," Papa Wolf says). Stevens, meanwhile, brings naturalistic draftsmanship to the characters while draping them in a hodgepodge of finery. Ages 4-7. (Aug.)

Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
Susan Stevens Crummel
Janet Stevens is the author and illustrator of many beloved picture books, including Tops & Bottoms, a Caldecott Honor Book. Visit her online at janetstevens.com.

Susan Stevens Crummel is the author of The Little Red Pen; and Texas Bluebonnet Award winners Cook-a-Doodle-Doo! and Help Me, Mr. Mutt! Visit her online at susanstevenscrummel.com.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780358561880
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Clarion Books
Publication date
August 23, 2022
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV002250 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Wolves & Coyotes
JUV039140 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance
JUV039220 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Values & Virtues
JUV012040 - Juvenile Fiction | Fairy Tales & Folklore | Adaptations
Library of Congress categories
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