A Well-Mannered Young Wolf

PreS-Gr 2—Unlike most fairy-tale villains, this predator has manners to a fault. Well, to his own fault, that is. In Leroy's latest picture book, readers are introduced to a capable rogue eager to devour his recently caught prey. Fortunately for them (but unfortunately for him), the young wolf was raised with a code of ethics that places high value upon respecting someone's last wish. Imagine the wolf's dismay when he returns from fetching the proper last wish materials (a book for a story, a guitar to play music), only to find that his captives have scampered off. One little boy requests a drawing and stays put, however, and upon receiving a wonderful hand-drawn portrait, he eagerly leads the wolf to his house so that they may display his new work of art to his friends, who, it turns out, have definitely met this wolf before. Maudet's simple yet effective pencil and digital illustrations are well suited to match the author's acerbic wit. The clean font and easy to-follow story make this a great option as a read-aloud. But for independent reading, this book would work best with first and second graders.