Howl

In a fantastical narrative that mirrors the plot of Where the Wild Things Are, a child learns to resolve overwhelming feelings. One day, Maggie is dissatisfied with everything: “the sun was the wrong shape,” “the spaghetti was too long,” and her clothes feel ill fitting. That night, after a bedtime battle with her mother, “Maggie began to have wolfish thoughts”—but try as she might, she cannot howl. When Mom undergoes the same transformation, however, she and Maggie embark on a night of lupine mischief. Scribbly strokes of colored pencil, chalk pastel, and wax crayon appropriately illustrate Maggie’s frustrations. The refrain “‘If I am a [person], I am also a wolf” paints personhood as part and parcel of having wolfish feelings, and Wolf Mom’s advice (“Take a deep breath. Count to seven, which is ten in human breaths, and imagine your biggest feelings flying into the sky”) will prove useful for anyone having “one of those days.” Ages 5–8. [em](Oct.) [/em]