Wolf Story

by William McCleery, Warren Chappell (Illustrator)

This irresistible book is a father; his five-year-old son, Michael (intelligent, crafty, addicted to stories); Michael’s best friend Stefan (stalwart listener, equally addicted to stories); and, well—what else?—a story. 

Oh, and a wolf. It is as Michael always a Wolf Story, which begins one night at bedtime and spins wildly on through subsequent bedtimes and Sunday outings to the beach and park in a succession of ever more trickily tantalizing episodes. Waldo the wolf is sneaking up on Rainbow the hen, when Jimmy Tractorwheel, the son of the local farmer, comes along. After that, there’s no knowing what will happen next, as while stalled in traffic jams or nodding off at night, the boys chime in and the story races on and Waldo finds, if not necessarily dinner, his just desserts.

First published in 1947 and wonderfully illustrated by Warren Chappell, William McCleery’s Wolf Story is a delicious treat for fathers and sons and daughters and mothers alike.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Chapter Books, Humor, Family, Juvenile, Classics

88 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1947

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Openlibrary.org; old review below:

I wish I'd bought this, so I could reread it at leisure, but at the same time I'm glad I circulated (& saved from culling) this library copy from New Richmond, WI. It's just a bit old-fashioned, and a bit dated, but a treasure for parents and for certain bright children.

Like several other older authors who primarily wrote for adults, McCleery gives the reader both the perspective of the parent, and of the child, and doesn't take special pains to make sure that every bit of the book appeals to both. That is to say, the youngest listener might not empathize with the father's desire for sleep, and the grown-up reader might not think the story of the wolf & the hen is all that exciting. However, the strategy of nesting both stories intermittently into a linear account of a few weeks of father-son time is effective. Both my inner child and I enjoyed the perfection of both stories thoroughly. I do wish McCleery wrote more for children.

Meanwhile, some of the books by A.A. Milne, James Thurber,P.L. Travers,E.B. White, Frances Hodgson Burnett (The Secret Garden), and Michael Rosen (perhaps particularly We're Going on a Bear Hunt) could give me a similar magical feeling.

[La Coccinelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. Given that it's from 1947, I expected it to be a lot more dated. But the father's interactions with his son (and his son's friend) seem downright modern, and there's not a lot in the book, technology-wise, that would have kids scratching their heads. (In fact, at one point when they ran into car trouble, some passerby called a nearby garage... and the way it was worded, he very well could've used a cell phone!)

The book is actually a story within a story. Michael's father tells him (and, eventually, his friend Stefan, too) a bedtime story that turns into a collaborative effort. The children make plenty of suggestions, usually with the aim of stretching the story out a little more. The basic premise of the bedtime story is that a wolf--named Waldo--steals a rainbow-coloured hen--named, of course, Rainbow. The wolf's not very bright, and he finds himself outsmarted by both a chicken and a five-year-old boy.

Overall, this is a surprisingly enjoyable little story from the 1940s. The exasperation of the father is amusing, as are the son's attempts to drag out the story a little more. I think most people who love stories will be able to relate to not wanting a good one to end... even if that means changing the trajectory of the plot and letting the villain live to steal chickens another day.

Quotable moment:

"Could he climb over the fence?" said the boy.
"You know a wolf couldn't climb a fence," said the man.
"But this is only a story," said the boy. "You can make anything happen in a story."

[Carmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book cries to be read-aloud, preferably by a father as it is a father who is telling the story in the story, with frequent interruptions by his five year old son (think of the banter between the grandfather and grandson in 'Princess Bride.')

The story in the story that is being made up by the father, albeit with frequent interjections, takes place on a farm and stars a chicken named 'Rainbow.' She is so named because "her feathers were of many different colors: red and pink and purple and lavender and majenta"
The boy yawned.
"and violet and yellow and orange...."
"That will be enough colors," said the boy.
"and green and dark green and light green...."
"Daddy! Stop!" cried the boy. "Stop saying so many colors. Your's putting me to sleep!"
"Why not?" said the man. "This is bedtime."
"But I want some story first." said the boy. "Not just colors."

The central conflict revolves around the wolf, Waldo, who captures the chicken and will he eat her or will he be shot and what will happen first and how and when. But it is also the story of how the boy cajoles his father to keep telling the story.

A lovely little gem for bed time reading.

[Matt Mccormick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the most wonderful book to read aloud to my daughter. I often tell her stories in the car in installments that stretch over days and days.
The dynamics between father and child in Wolf Story was amusingly familiar to both of us as we read this story about a father who tells his son a story about a hen named Rainbow and her run-in with a wolf named Waldo. Another reviewer likened the father-son interactions as akin to the grandfather-grandson banter in the Princess Bride. this is a very good comparison as the son keeps trying to shape the story without actually taking over the telling of it. It has a natural rhythm and style that lends it perfectly to being read aloud.

This book has been released back into print as part of New York Review Children's Collection of Books. There is a nice listing of other members of the Collection at the end of the book that will certainly be investigated by my daughter and I!

http://www.amazon.com/Wolf-Story-York...

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a delightful find this was! Originally written in 1947, it's the story of a boy, Michael, and his father, as Daddy tells his son a bedtime story about a hen and a wolf that continues in installments for days. The relationship between Michael and his father is revealed through dialogue, of which there is a great deal (you can tell this was written by a playwright), as well as through the every Sunday outings father and son take. Daddy has some rather humorous comments (and mother does at one point), and I enjoyed the setting of New York City and surroundings. Warren Chappell's black and white illustrations, which only depict the characters in the story Daddy tells, give it the feel of a fairy tale. I'm so glad this gem was reprinted in 1988 for another generation of children to enjoy. Highly recommended!

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute! Our whole family enjoyed this one.

[Charity · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Michael, my daughter would have liked it if I'd read the whole Wolf Story in one evening. She enjoyed following the story of the wolf and the boy and the hen named Rainbow; I enjoyed the realistic way McCleery portrayed the father-son (or parent-son) relationship. The father is constantly tired, and Michael is constantly trying to avoid sleep. Michael begs his father to tell the story, and father and son negotiate. The father makes the boy in the story the cleverest of all of the people in his family. Real life challenges intrude upon the story, and still the story continues.

We hear, along with Michael, this wolf story, but the story that comes through is of the love that this father has for his son (and the love his son has for him).

[Laura (Book Scrounger) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a humorous and enjoyable story of a five-year-old boy who is always asking his father to tell him a story, and the story he tells always has to have a wolf in it. So over the course of several days, from bedtimes to road trips, the father tells his son and his son's friend (with plenty of input from them) little pieces of the story of Waldo the wolf who abducts Rainbow the hen, and what becomes of them. I liked that the father had a sarcastic streak that made me chuckle more than once, and I liked the interplay between the realistic parent/child relationship and a fictional, ever-evolving story.

This was a quick read -- 10 chapters and less than 100 pages. I think it will make a great Christmas gift for my husband and five-year-old son.

[Greg Kerestan · Rating 3 out of 5]

William McCleery's "Wolf Story" is half children's book, half book about children. As a creative but exasperated father is forced to spin what was once a very slight, simple fairy tale into an extended, epic saga to please his five-year-old son, what emerges is both an ode to the power of creativity and of the love between a parent and a child. Though not as sophisticated as A. A. Milne's writing at its best, "Wolf Story" can easily be characterized as a New York City "Winnie the Pooh," and captures that same magic of an child's eye view of the adult world as an extended, adventurous excursion.

[woody · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids favorite read aloud book. About a father and son and story about a wolf named Rainbow.

[karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple and effective. My favorite line from the hen: " I do not EAT chickens."

[Lizzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made us all laugh!

[Khai]

I listened to this as a book-on-tape over and over for years as a child. I loved it.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's just as good as I remember it in grade school. The jokes still hold up, if my class's laughter is any indication. And it will still remain my favorite book.

[Tayebe Ej · Rating 2 out of 5]

ایده ی جالبی داشت ولی بنظرم لوس و آبکی نوشته شده بود. مخصوصا شخصیت پدر اصلا باورپذیر نبود.

[✨Arline✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unexpected ending. ❤️

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a fairly new father, I have quickly learned that reading to my son is about what he wants to read, not what I want to read. I can suggest a book until I am blue in the face, but if he finds some of his favorite books, we will read those books ad nauseum. I will admit, I have hidden those books a time or two just to give him exposure to other books and to give myself a break, but they don't stay hidden for long and before you know it, the old favorites are being read and re-read and re-read. It is for that reason that I, like most parents, can relate so well to Wolf Story.

Wolf Story is a story within a story. One night a man was putting his five-year old son Michael to bed. The man began to tell Michael the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, but Michael asked for a new story. The new story involved a hen, named Rainbow; a wolf, named Waldo; and a boy, named Jimmy Tractorwheel. Unlike most stories, where there is one narrator, Michael chimes in on his father telling the story to add his own personal details and make the story his own. The storytelling is not a one night event, but spans many nights and various outings Michael and his father make. In addition to the book being very funny (for kids and adults), I just liked the idea of the book, because it showed a special bond between this father and son and a memory they will be able to look back on when they are both older. This is one book I can't wait to share with my son when he is older, and it is also one I actually hope he asks me to read over and over to him again! Just be sure to read it slowly, like a chapter a night, and not rush through it!

[Frederick · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mother gave me this book when I was ten. The illustrations are by Barbara McClintock. They're marvelous etchings (or what appear to be etchings.)
If my memory serves me, a father and his young son and a friend of the son are driving on the Merrit Parkway throughout the book, on various Sundays. They're going back and forth to the beach. Each drive, the son wants his father to continue telling a story about a wolf. McCleery describes the Parkway, with its wooden railings and looping lamps, in such a way that it is always present in the reader's mind as the story of the wolf is told. The boy interrupts the narrative with a qestion every so often.
I believe my mother, a teacher, heard McCleery speak before a gathering of teachers. This was how she knew of him. This book is pretty hard to find. I can't think it didn't get some press when it originally came out. (I think it came out around 1955.)
I misplaced my childhood copy. (I know it's around somewhere.) My reading copy is one I ordered from the bookstore of my employ when I was about forty.
It's about a father relaxing with his son. There's nothing heavy, but, somehow, a sense that the father's chief gift is patience comes through. If he can only give his son a few hours on a Sunday (and there's nothing that says he's not around the rest of the week) he'll give him a continuing story.

[Dave Pier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a little novella about a father going on outings in New York City with his son and a friend. Nothing extraordinary happens--they just enjoy themselves doing everyday fun things together. If you are a parent, it will make you think about how valuable ordinary moments with your children are. The language is simple and accessible to a four or five year old.
As this story in which nothing much happens unfolds, the father improvises another tale about a wolf who tries to steal chickens and is foiled by a clever young farm boy. The wolf is the only malicious agent in the book, and he is more comical than scary. Whatever scariness builds is broken up, as the wolf story proceeds in fits and starts. This is, I think, very much in the spirit of the post-war American moment in which this book was written. This is a book about feeling safe and keeping the still fresh memories of war terrors contained, while rediscovering the pleasures of doing ordinary things with one's family. If you read with this in mind, you will notice all sorts of references to the war. Thus, I believe it is a deeper book than at first it seems.
The New York Review of Books edition is a beautiful object to pick up and read, with nice paper, lovely retro-style typesetting, and old-fashioned pen illustrations, presumably drawn from the original book.

[Jane Maple · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely charming story about a father making up a bedtime story for his son (and eventually his son's friend) about a chicken called Rainbow and (as the title tells us) a wolf. It's filled with fun moments: the father initially doesn't want to tell a wolf story, since apparently this is all the boy asks for; the father interrupts the story periodically to ask the boy (or his friend) what should happen next; and the father is clearly trying to get the boy to go to sleep by tell this story - sometimes he succeeds in getting the boy to sleep, sometimes the father falls asleep, and sometimes something else happens (such as a car breaking down) which interrupts the story. Going back and forth between the Wolf Story and the frame story (the father and son story) is done well and overall it is just a pleasant book.

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imagine your favorite story is one your dad makes up with a new adventure every time you ask him to tell it and this is what happens...

This book (a mere 82 pages with pen&ink illustrations throughout) would be ideal to share in a creative writing unit for early and mid-grades. Any adult would benefit from this model for storytelling, where the child is inducted into helping to create the narrative. (It would also be fun to transfer select illustrations on to quilt squares and embroider them for a child's quilt.) Great fun, all.

*original pub. date is 1947. The New York Review selected it to reissue as part of their "Children's Collection".

Reading level 3.9, A.R. points 1.0.

[Starry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This sweet little book contains tells the story of a dad telling a story to his 5-yr-old son. The story, of course, is about a wolf. But the best part, to me, is the outer story of a patient, loving, funny dad spending happy times with his son.

I picked this book up at the library, planning to read it aloud to my kids. But they got their hands on it first, devoured it in one sitting (note the wolf pun. thank you), and then "recommended" it to me! So I didn't actually get to read it aloud.

The story, the story-in-the-story, and the illustrations are funny and sweet and reminiscent of classic fairy tales.

[Alexandra Maag · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had this book since I was very little, and it's really a pleasant read that you may want to read to your children. It's about a father who starts telling his son a bedtime story about a hen named Rainbow and a wolf named Waldo. However, the boy falls asleep while his father is telling the story. As the days go on, he asks for more and more of the story. He is soon joined by his next door neighbor and best friend who also loves the story. This book tells the story of the family, but also the story of Rainbow and Waldo.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a chapter book published in 1947. A father is putting his son, Michael, to bed. Michael wants a story about a hen, named Rainbow, and a wolf. This story is told in bits and pieces throughout the book - at bedtime, on outings to the park and the beach. I enjoyed the tale and Michael's obvious love of story. Although the story is timeless, there are other aspects of the book that show its publication date - going for gas and having an attendant pump it for you, wash the windshield, and check the oil. A great story to share with your story lovers.

[Caren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this book was originally published in 1947, the story is timeless. It brought to mind my oldest daughter (who is now 32) when she was very young. I would listen in as she and her daddy played. The pretend scenarios became very detailed, always directed by my little daughter. In this book, the father is telling an ongoing story about a wolf's attempt to snatch a chicken, but the story is always under the direction of his five-year-old son. Very sweet!

[Danielle McClellan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely delightful 1947 story of a New York City father telling his young son a long bedtime story that involves a smart hen named Rainbow and a wolf with evil intent. The writing is spare and lovely and the story remains fresh. My six-year-old son was thrilled to hear this read aloud and I was reminded of E.B. White and other New Yorker-ish authors who are funny, sharp, gentle writers who never speak down to children.

[Christiane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming old-fashioned (1947) story of a father telling a story to his young son...do parents actually make up stories anymore? Maybe because the story is about a wolf, it made me think of the Saki story "The Story-Teller". http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnL...

I discovered this last copy at CEN when a patron asked for it...I love CEN's children's department!

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

So glad I found this. Recommended by Jim Trealise in his "Listen to This" book. One page could be skipped if you are reading aloud - an adult encourages his son to say "dang" in place of a worse word and I think minced oaths are an unhelpful habit. But many other good qualities exalted and displayed in a humorous, inspiring way.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quirky, silly, inventive book for reading aloud to kids. Or to yourself. A dad tells a story to his young son, with alternating chapters describing the boy’s real life. Sounds blah but it’s charming and funny. (We listened for years to the audio version read by Anthony Heald and now cannot find it anywhere - if anyone knows how to obtain that please let me know!)

[Jo Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun story from 1947 wherein we find a storytelling father, his son and son's friend. Over the course of several weeks, we hear all the enstallments of the Wolf Story in addition to the son's cajolings to get the father to continue the story. Fun. Funny. We really enjoyed it!