Wolf! Wolf!

by John Rocco

THE HUNGRY OLD WOLF has been dreaming of a feast, but all he can manage to scrounge up from his garden are a few weeds. One day, he hears a young shepherd boy call "WOLF! WOLF!"Could it be that the boy is inviting him over for lunch?This hilarious retelling, with a twist, of the classic Aesop's fable is sure to delight a new generation of readers and vegetarians.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Humor, Folk Tales, Animals, Fairy Tales, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2007

About the author

Rocco studied illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design and School of Visual Arts in New York City. He is the author of four acclaimed books for children: Wolf! Wolf!, winner of the Borders Original Voices Award for best picture book; Moonpowder, part of the Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators; Fu Finds the Way, and Blackout, a New York Times Best Book of the Year and winner of a 2012 Caldecott Honor. Rocco also illustrated Whoopi Goldberg‘s Alice and the covers for Rick Riordan‘s multi-million copy internationally bestselling series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Kane Chronicles, and The Heroes of Olympus. Most recently, Rocco illustrated the fantasy fairy tale, The Flint Heart, written by Katherine Paterson and her husband, John.
me with samFor many years Rocco has been an art director in the entertainment industry, both in the US and abroad. At Dreamworks, Rocco was the pre-production art director on the top-grossing animated film Shrek. For Walt Disney Imagineering, he designed attractions at Disney’s Epcot and served as art director for DisneyQuest, a virtual reality theme park in Downtown Disney. Rocco has worked with computer graphics pioneer Robert Abel, the creator of some of the first CGI commercials and special effects, and contributed to several museum projects including Newseum in Washington D.C. and Paul Allen‘s Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame.
Rocco lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Aileen and their daughter, Alaya.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 5 out of 5]

The artwork is Asian inspired with Zen gardens and cherry trees. It’s lovely. Everything is beautiful here.

This is a retelling of the ‘Boy who Cried Wolf’. The spin is that the story is told from the old wolf. He is old and his back hurts. He has a garden overrun by weeds and he can’t find his vegetables. He hears a boy cry Wolf! Wolf! and he goes to investigate. He watches the drama with the townspeople and the boy over and over. After the 3rd false calls, he goes to the boy and makes a deal. He tells the boy to bring the goat to his garden and he’ll not eat all the goats. (He does not eat the boy in this one). He goes home and the goats have eaten all his weeds.



Spoiler:

He decides he needs a friend more than goat dumplings, so he doesn’t eat the goat.

I love the twists this story provides and seeing the story from another perspective. I love everything about this story. I got lucky when I stumbled across this little gem.

The nephew thought this was interesting. The wolf wasn’t scary here. He kept expecting the wolf to eat someone and he didn’t. He thought this a pretty good story as he kept being surprised. He gave it 4 stars.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

The wolf just wants to grow his garden and live in peace. However, a young shepherd boy keeps crying "Wolf". Eventually, people stop listening. The wolf decides to strike a bargain with the boy and teach him a lesson.

This creative retelling of the Boy Who Cried wolf takes both a humorous, alternative and culturally different take on the story. (This would be a great puppet show for kids, just saying.)
The Asian-inspired (and forgive me, it had been a bit since I read which country it was set in) illustrations provided a new and unique landscape for this beloved tale that was both refreshing and relevant to the telling.
The story seems like its going to downhill for the shepherd boy, but if you're paying attention as a reader, you don't need to worry.
This would also be a great read aloud for bedtime or story time.
P.S. You will enjoy the twist ending.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our class took a field trip to our local public library. Wonderful trip! Frankly, this is what a field trip should be: educational, exciting, and fun.

Anyhow, we began with a story time. This was one of the books we read. The True Story of the Three Little Bears is a familiar fractured fairy tale. This is in a similar vein, but with the tale of the Boy Who Cried Wolf. The wolf was old, yet enamored with the plump goats.

The end was the PC ending. It was okay, but I would have gone a little darker.

Fun story!

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

A non-traditional finish to this traditional aesop’s fable. The boy who cried wolf, abuses the power of his words to the villagers until they no longer believe his words or heed his calls for help, but what happens next is where it changes most, and leads to a surprising end.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness! I loved this book!!!!

The setting was unique for this sort of tale, and the portrayal of the wolf rocked.

It was a solid 4 stars until the end, when that little twist bumped it up for me. Brilliant!!!

[Set · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this retelling of Aesop fable of the Boy Who Cried Wolf. The wolf is old and too tired of working in his garden. He crafty and cunning wolf tricks the boy and taught him a lesson.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was freaking adorable. A twist on a fable and a "Shrek book" that appeals to kids and adults.

[Melana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations and wonderful retelling of the The Boy Who Cried Wolf!!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this first attempt at both writing and illustrating simultaneously, John Rocco delivers a delightful twist on the story of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." Told from the point-of-view of the wolf, the character devises a plan to get a goat in order to have a tasty meal. However, when the goat proves more valuable that the wolf realized, he and the goat become fast friends.

The story is beautifully illustrated. While the pages are each bordered, the illustrations are full-page, but spill over into white space on the opposite page where the text is located, causing the eye to travel, adding interest and prompting a desire in the reader to turn the page in order to continue the story. For example, in one instance, the goats are running out of the illustration onto the next page. Perhaps the most powerful part of the illustrations are in the expressions on the faces of both the wolf and the goat near the end of the book, when the goat is afraid of the wolf and the wolf is confused and surprised by what the goat has done. The facial expressions on the next page are powerful as well, when the wolf unties the goat. The coloring of the illustrations give the story an Asian feel (which is where the book is set), and will hold the interest of the reader. Overall, the illustrations are well thought out and greatly enhance the text.

The text is written parallel to the bottom of the page and the black lettering contrasts nicely with the background, which will contribute to an easy of reading; however, the serif font may make it difficult for those with vision challenges to read. The vocabulary itself is appropriate for all readers, and the story has only a few characters, which is helpful for young children and makes it an excellent read-aloud choice. Furthermore, the book's twist on a traditional tale makes it useful as a teaching resource.

This picture book is a treasure, and can be enjoyed for pleasure or employed as a fun, yet effective, teaching resource. It is a wonderful choice for either a personal library or classroom resource.

[Samantha Zapata · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful spin off from the tale "The Boy Who Cried Wolf!" The story is about an older wolf who is tired and was more annoyed with the little boy who kept crying wolf than the weeds growing in his garden. Well the wolf never appeared and was never close enough because the boy would always scream it out. The wolf couldn't even dream about goats without the boy crying out wolf. So when the boy was content one day the wolf crept up behind him and scared the little boy and said he could take only one goat and be fine with it. They both agreed and the wolf came out to the wolf one day and saw him eating, but the wolf was astonished because the goat ate his weeds in the garden. The wolf chose not to eat the goat and made the goat his friend.

I loved this book, it had a Japanese theme in the book. It introduced another culture without having to say anything about it. The pictures were fantastic and detailed very well. It was great read! I'm sure anyone would enjoy it.

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shifting the focus from a bored young boy to an aged, irritated wolf, Mr. Rocco has created an amusingly sly twist on an old Aesop tale. Setting the story in China, the author/illustrator dazzles with one glorious color spread after another as gorgeously painted florae and faunae fill the pages. The lupine’s journey to find the mysterious “wolf” caller is only one of many beautiful pictures sure to delight readers of all ages.

The faces of the villagers and the young boy are individual and expressive, especially when they realize the boy’s trickery. But it is the final encounter between two animals that lifts this story beyond its fabulist origins and provides the real surprise (and yes, before you ask, there really are wolves in China!).

[Wendy Potter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who would have thought of such a twists for the story "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" - I loved how the wolf is now so old and the story makes this clear by his cracking bones, hearing aid and tiredness. I also like how this story takes on the wolf's side of the story a few years down the road. The illustrations are beautiful as well as the use of words. It seems to take place in either China or Japan, some elements seem to be Chinese and others Japanese, this part is not clear to me, but either way, this take makes the illustrations richer and the story diverse. I think children would enjoy this story very much! Especially if they have read the "Boy Who Cried, Wolf". Great for teaching text-to-text connections!

[Andrew Swanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The hungry old wolf can't seem to grow anything but weeds in his garden, and he's too slow to chase rabbits or birds anymore. He has no friends on the mountain, so it's curious when he hears his name called by a young goat-herd. The wolf wonders if the boy is inviting him to dine on one of his scrumptious-looking goats, but hides when angry villagers approach.

This hilarious retelling of The Boy Who Cried Wolf is set in East Asia (presumably China or Japan) and is beautifully illustrated. Readers young and old will appreciate our aged wolf on his quest to find an easy meal.

[Jesse Crooker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderfully written twisted fairytale. Based on the classic tale “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”, this story “Wolf, Wolf”, is the tale told through the perspective of an old, hungry wolf. While on his quest for a meal we meet characters old (familiar) and new (unfamiliar). And even make some unlikely friends along the way! I’ve read this story multiple times and the readers, including myself, seem to really enjoy it. Such a fun and humorous read!

[John Wick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great new look at the classic story "The Boy who Cried Wolf". This wolf is Asian, and also a vegetarian. His garden will not grow and there's a boy who keeps crying wolf all the time. When a Sheep is finaly given to the wolf he must decide if he wants to eat it of if there's another choice that can be made.

[Dolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic take on one of Aesop's fables. The illustrations are rich, colorful and expressive, just amazing.

The Chinese backdrop and details like lotus flowers and cherry blossoms are gorgeous. And the ending is a bit surprising, but sweet.

We really enjoyed this tale and it's a perfect tale to read at bedtime.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book, certainly the kind where things work out a lot better than your traditional fairy tale. The illustrations are vibrant and lively, very convincing and detailed though in a more cartoonish manner than a realistic portrait style that some artists go for. The whole story was quietly entertaining and enjoyable. I had a good time with the entire thing.

[Camille · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can't agree enough with other reviewers. A great take on the Boy Who Cried wolf, set in ancient China, with an wolf long-in-the-tooth! Ha! Been waiting to use that one. The illustrations are pretty great. My favorite spread is the one where the wolf is soaking his feet in the stream. Onry wolf and beautiful fish swimming about... priceless!

[Jostalady · Rating 4 out of 5]

The boy who cried wolf from the wolf's perspective. Cute story with values I want my kids to learn. The art is great, and it is set somewhere Asian. It's like we won the lottery for things we want to see in a book with this one! Thanks to a co-worker who pointed it out.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations are marvelous (especially the expressions) and the story has a delightful, unexpected twist. I liked the oriental setting. Definitely one I'd like to add to the classroom library.

[Jim Sibigtroth · Rating 5 out of 5]

In addition to the unusual variation of the Boy Who Cried Wolf tale where the wolf turns out to be a good guy, the illustrations are stunning. The original moral is there, but also friendship and a lifetime of good food is better than the brief satisfaction of gobbling up one goat.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Wolf! Wolf! Is a fractured fairy tale based on "The Boy Who Cried Wolf". This story is unique, basing its setting in ancient China. Readers will enjoy the unexpected twists the story takes. And the illustrations are delightful.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great twist on a classic tale, very clever. I loved the artwork and choreography. It has an Asian setting and cast, although it doesn't specify its location, and there were one or two women amongst the villagers but the main protagonists were male.

[Mira · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wonderful illustrations, accompanying a bizarre retooling of the-boy-who-cried-wolf. This time, the wolf becomes a vegetarian! As a vegetarian myself, I still found the message within this retelling to be embarrassingly heavy-handed and ridiculous.

[Kari Hilmanowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was too adorable! It is a new take on the old "the boy who cried wolf" tale, involving an old, tired, grumpy wolf who tricks the boy into delivering him a wolf. Even better, the wolf discovers the goat eats all the weeds from his garden so he can have fresh vegetables...and a new friend.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

A new and interesting twist on the Aesop fable of the Boy Who Cried Wolf. The hungry old wolf is too stiff to chase rabbits, and snatch birds, but he's still clever, and wise and able to teach a prank playing kid a lesson.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great re-telling of The Boy Who Cried Wolf, but with a nice twist at the end.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations and fun retelling of a famous fable.

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wolf's POV for boy who cried wolf. Happy ending for everyone.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was great twist on classic tale