Children’s Books
Whatever Happened to the Big Bad Wolf?
‘Red Riding Hood and the Sweet Little Wolf,’ and More
From "Red Riding Hood and the Sweet Little Wolf"
By PAMELA PAUL
Once upon a time, the Big Bad Wolf was a mighty fearsome fellow. In the
folkloric tales of Aesop and the Grimms, he terrorized small children
and other helpless critters. He blew down houses in Disney’s “Three
Little Pigs,” and in “The Three Little Wolves,” a somewhat sinister
Silly Symphony cartoon from 1936, after the Nazi ascent to power, he is
saddled with a German accent.
THE THREE LITTLE PIGS AND THE SOMEWHAT BAD WOLF
Written and illustrated by Mark Teague
48 pp. Orchard Books/Scholastic. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 3 to 5)
RABBIT AND THE NOT-SO-BIG-BAD WOLF
By Michael Escoffier
Illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo
32 pp. Holiday House. $16.95. (Picture book; ages 3 to 6)
RED RIDING HOOD AND THE SWEET LITTLE WOLF
By Rachael Mortimer
Illustrated by Liz Pichon
32 pp. Tiger Tales. $12.95. (Picture book; ages 3 to 7)
THE BIG BAD WOLF GOES ON VACATION
Written and illustrated by Delphine Perret
64 pp. Sterling. $12.95. (Graphic novel; ages 5 to 10)
From "The Three Little Pigs and the Somewhat Bad Wolf"
From "Rabbit and the Not-So-Big-Bad Wolf"
From "The Big Bad Wolf Goes on Vacation"
Perhaps he was due for a makeover. Four new picture books this year
brush aside his surly past and sweeten him up for warmer and fuzzier
tales, while still retaining a bit of bite. In “The Three Little Pigs
and the Somewhat Bad Wolf,” the prolific author-illustrator Mark Teague
(“Dear Mrs. La Rue,” the “How Do Dinosaurs…?” series), sets his story in
motion when three small pigs are abandoned by their farmer. (He decides
to move to Florida with his wife.) They’ll just have to set up camp
elsewhere.
The story proceeds as expected, with a few comic touches. Two of the
pigs are not only lazy, they’re inveterate junk food gobblers; the third
plants a vegetable patch. Matters depart from the routine when the
“somewhat bad” wolf comes in, hungry and in a “VERY bad mood.” Still, he
isn’t the professional destroyer of pigs from the stories of yore. “I
can’t believe that worked!” he marvels after blowing down the first
pig’s house. “He had never blown down a house before.”
He’s also, it happens, out of shape. The pigs feel sorry for him, and
soon enough, he’s lounging with his porcine friends in the third pig’s
swimming pool. Instead of happily ever after, "he was hardly ever bad
again.” Breezily entertaining and full of food references, this
humorous fractured fairy tale won’t send any children peering fretfully
up the chimney.
“Rabbit and the Not-So-Big-Bad Wolf,” written by Michael Escoffier and
illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo (illustrator of last year’s winning “My
Dad is Big and Strong, But…”), offers a more original premise. The
story, published originally in France, belongs to a small white bunny,
whom the narrator, invisible behind a large coffee mug, addresses
directly: “Tell me, Rabbit. Do you know the Not-So-Big-Bad Wolf?”
The rabbit then tries to draw the fellow in question, using a piece of
chalk and a traditional blackboard. Each time, he gets at least one
feature wrong. “That’s good,” the narrator says with encouragement. “But
the Not-So-Big-Bad Wolf has a small nose.” Trouble arises when Rabbit
gets the picture right, and the Wolf materializes and gives chase. The
bunny tries to hide everywhere, but the scare is fleeting. The wolf, it
turns out, is more Max than Wild Thing, and she dearly loves bunnies.
Working with charcoal and muted watercolors, Di Giacomo infuses her
pictures with humor and feeling in a story that may confuse at first but
will charm in the end.
Meanwhile, “Red Riding Hood and the Sweet Little Wolf” opens on a smiley
note, with a lavender-colored wolf cheerfully reading a book in a
bright, sunny meadow. “Really, she was a Sweet Little Wolf who loved all
things pretty and pink, especially fairy tales,” we are reassured.
Unfortunately, her parents are sincerely bad wolves, and they ask their
sweet child to collect “one little girl (tender and juicy)” for their
evening repast.
Lo and behold, along comes Little Red Riding Hood, reading a fairy tale
of her own. The Sweet Little Wolf tries to carry out her parents’
instructions, but she doesn’t have the temperament to pull it off. Sure,
she dresses up like Grandma, but that’s only because she can’t resist
trying on her polka-dotted nightcap and spritzing herself with perfume.
Needless to say, nothing else goes according to plan in this frilly
fractured fairy tale. There are tears and misunderstandings, and even a
180-degree turnaround by her harsh parents. A final impish twist can’t
quite overcome Mrs. Wolf's overly comforting “We love you just the way
you are.” Some fairy tales, alas, aren’t to be believed.
“The Big Bad Wolf Goes on Vacation” is Delphine Perret’s very smart and
thoroughly beguiling follow-up to the similarly marvelous “Big Bad Wolf
and Me” (2006), both of which were originally published in France. A
hybrid picture book/chapter book/graphic novel for young children and
newly confident readers, both books tell the story of Louis, a young boy
with an active imagination and a Big Bad Wolf for a companion. His name
is Bernard. And he’s a secret.
He’s also, occasionally, a distraction. He gets crumbs on Louis’s neck
while the child tries to finish his homework. “You want me to leave you
alone?” the Wolf asks, and when Louis says yes, can’t help adding, “I
see you’ve made a few mistakes on your homework.” You can understand why
Louis assents to the Wolf accompanying him on his beach vacation with
Grandpa, with the caveat, “You’d have to go incognito.”
This may not be difficult, since the Wolf is drawn as mere shadow, with a
brown blurry silhouette that stands in sharp contrast to Louis’s bright
blue outlines. He is often mistaken for a dog. There’s also little
danger of him eating anyone. “You forget that I’m a vegetarian,” he
points out to Louis. “But you love salmon and sardines!” Louis retorts.
So goes the typical dialogue between the two friends — sometimes
familiar, sometimes kvetchy — and it’s just one of the book’s many great
charms. (At one point, the Wolf complains to Louis, “I am wounded by
your lack of trust.”) Grown-ups will adore Grandpa and children will
adore Louis. This Big Bad Wolf will win over everybody.