cover image Nice Work, Little Wolf!

Nice Work, Little Wolf!

Hilda Offen. Dutton Books, $14 (320pp) ISBN 978-0-525-44880-8

The storybook world of pigs and wolves living in endless conflict is given a new twist in this outing, as a young wolf in search of excitement comes to live with a family of porkers. True to their porcine instincts, the lazy pigs follow a firmly established family pecking order, and Little Wolf bears the brunt of their indolence. The hapless animal (whom the pigs mistake for a puppy) is assigned numerous, increasingly arduous tasks, which he accomplishes with notable capability. Nature takes its course and Little Wolf becomes a big wolf, ultimately manifesting his true nature with decidedly mixed results. Though Offen's bustling, rainbow-hued illustrations possess an Easter egg-like charm, her tale is flat and repetitious--and, youngsters will no doubt feel, illogical. Even absurd premises must have some rational grounding: Why does this protagonist subject himself to the pigs' outrageous demands? Hasn't his mother noticed her offspring's absence? Even little ones, unfortunately, won't find satisfactory answers here. Ages 3-7. (May)