Good Little Wolf

An overzealous wolf insists that he really is a “good little wolf,” if misunderstood, in this German author/artist’s darkly imaginative gem. The wolf, whose features are exaggerated to the point of caricature, lives in a house with his “friends”—a lamb, giraffe, bear and rabbit—all of whom are captive participants in the wolf’s stagy antics. Diminutive illustrations (their small size is further set off by the book’s small format) give readers the impression of peering through the windows of a dollhouse. Occasionally, the humor verges on the macabre: the wolf provides his toothy mouth as refuge from the rain (“I am very helpful”). The animals, who appear more comfortable seated several paces away from him as the wolf reads them stories, are comically long-suffering, but not from true malice (could they be cherished toys?). While his puppet-mastery tests boundaries (sometimes he “pretend[s]” he’s “a Big Bad Wolf!”), it’s all in the spirit of play: this wolf’s bravado is bigger than his bite. Ages 3–up. (Oct.)