The Red Wolf

by Margaret Shannon

Protected from the perilous world outside by being imprisoned in her tower room, Roselupin, who is tired of being locked away, receives a strange birthday present on her seventh birthday that helps her escape into the woods, where she yells, dances, and terrifies the kingdom folk!

Genres: Picture Books, Fantasy, Childrens, Storytime, Fairy Tale Retellings, Fairy Tales, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Saffron Moon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspired by Where the Wild Things Are (an adored popular book that I personally do not appreciate due to what I consider the normalisation of colonial entitlement thinking - but that interpretation is perhaps a discussion for another time…), The Red Wolf is a great alternative to WTWTA, as it has everything that I had wanted that storybook to be, along with an empowering message to young girls that made me think of Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés that espouses that “within every woman there lives a powerful force, filled with good instincts, passionate creativity, and ageless knowing”.

Added to my favourites and would recommend.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspired by "Where The Wild Things Are", both in story and illustration, with an old-fashioned fairy-tale quality married with a "gotcha back" ending. Very enjoyable read - for both adults and for kids aged 4-10.

[Beatrice Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything I would ever want and ask for in a children's book is right here. It is a magical wonderful fantasy tale with gorgeous pictures some very detailed that could be paintings while other pages just service the story simply and effectively. A tale of a king who has locked his daughter into a tower and the wonderful transformation journey of that girl. Such wonderful wonderful drawings. Some pages I just wanted to stare at a bit longer. Obviously inspired by WHere the WIld THings Are. Not a bad place to get inspiration from. And the ending so subtle and wonderful. Perfect.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book as it contained several of my favorite elements, but I have mixed emotions about the ending.
*Spoiler alert*
I didn't especially like the way the princess rebelled and "punished" her father. Though I appreciate her strong feelings and desire not to be controlled, as a parent I understand the desire to keep our kids safe! Sad that the parent/child relationship was portrayed in this way and they never came to an understanding.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice story about female empowerment. I like that tye ending doubles down on the carnivalistic plot rather than just having things go back to the way they were.

[Nadine in NY Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book, it was so cute and charming and self-confident! (Full disclosure: my children were not as completely charmed by this as I was - they thought it was okay.)

[Miri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it, and I'm pretty sure it'll work great for storytime.

[Kaylee Harkness · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read for a children a bedtime story! Positive and fun message for my little girls to reach out for what they want and do not settle! Don’t let fear stop you! Great tale !

[Sara Castro · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book shows many different emotions and many different illustrations. Children will be engaged by the many different things going on throughout this book. It has adventure and shows true feelings of a child. The illustrations shown in the book represent a child wanting to get out and just have fun, the colors make the story pop, and you can see the emotions written on each characters face in the pictures. The emotions were shown more in the pictures than in the text of the book. The text, to me, didn't have much to say, but it was very well written. The readers will get a sense of enjoyment if they have an imaginative mind set.

The main characters , father and daughter, were very well rounded in this book. Where it takes place has a large effect on the characters personalities. They live in the woods probably back in the 1800s which means not many advances would be happening, as in, no internet, light bulbs, etc. The daughter just wants to leave the tower and go out but father is too scared to let her which makes her want to go out even more. This shows how much children want to be free and go do other things. This book is delightful and exciting to read.

[Elisa Samano · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Red Wolf tells the story of Roselupin and her life inside a tower. Roselupin wants nothing more but to step outside, but her father will not let her. One day, for her birthday, she receives wool as a present. Dissatisfied with her present, she decides to wool away. Before she knows it, this wool consumes her and engulfs her to the point of her being wrapped with it, and turning into a red wolf. Roselupin runs into the forest and has a huge adventure.

The plot of the story is Roselupin getting out of her tower and finally having time outside. Roselupin is able to step outside, but not for long. The setting is very nicely illustrated with images of the big green forest while Roselupin is outside running. Roselupin is also a very round character throughout the story. Through illustrations of the author, we can see her disappointed face when she receives wool as her birthday present. But when she finally steps outside, as a wolf, we can see her joy and excitement while she enjoys the outside. Characterization was big in this story as we were shown how Roselupin was sad, disappointed and happy all throughout the story and its illustrations.

[Stephanie Sesic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the story of the young, red-haired princess Roselupin, confined to a tower by her overly protective father, the king. When a golden chest full of yarn is discovered “For Roselupin,” with the message that she should “Knit what you want,” the king suggests that she knit him a nice scarf. But Roselupin takes all the red yarn and knits herself a wolf suit, which when she put it on, causes her to grow into a real, enormous red wolf. She escapes from the tower and is appeased with food from the villagers. Everyone thinks the princess has been eaten by the wolf. But when the villagers go to the forest to seek the missing wolf, they find a long skein of read yarn tangled among the trees and Roselupin asleep. The king immediately puts her in and even higher tower and once again suggests that she knit him a nice scarf. Instead, she knits him a mousy pair of pajamas, causing the king to turn into a mouse, after which Roselupin is freed from her tower.

[Salsabrarian]

Roselupin's father, the King, locks her away in a tower room to protect her from the wild and dangerous world. Roselupin longs to be out in the world she sees from her window. One day a golden box full of balls of wool shows up for Roselupin. The king laughs and dismisses the gift but Roselupin knits a red wolf suit that busts her out of the tower to see the world and frightens the king who thinks the wolf has eaten his daughter. When she returns to her normal size and shape, the king locks her in an even taller tower to protect her. Roselupin knits another costume especially for her father to wear, which turns out to be a mouse costume...

[Ashleigh Entwistle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Margaret Shannon, The Red Wolf (2002)

This book is about a little girl,Roselupin, put into a tower by her father, the king, because "The world is a wild and dangerous place." On her seventh birthday, she got a gold box, inside was yarn and it said "Knit what you want" and the king laughed. She knit what she wants. She gets to do what she wants to do.

This books illustrates how a girl wants to go outside and play but the father thinks it too dangerous for her. The meaning of this book to show the relationship between the father and daughter. It also shows the different point if views.

[Kari Hilmanowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't even really know what to say about this book? It is a fairytale of sorts, with a king who locks his daughter in a tower to keep her safe. There is a mysterious golden box, some knitting, a little bit of magic and shape-shifting. It was a rather odd tale that felt like it ended abruptly, and weirdly. Not even entirely sure what the overall positive message is that children can walk away with? The illustrations were fun though.

[JustOneMoreBook.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brimming with mystique and echoes of Sendak, this fresh fairy tale subtly, yet powerfully, casts light on the costs of safety and the value of freedom. Our whole family is entranced by this fabulous book.

Listen to our chat about this book on our JustOneMoreBook.com Children's Book Podcast:

http://www.justonemorebook.com/2006/1...

[Korinne Sackela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the story-line and the creative names to go along with this fairy tale story. It was really relatable even though it has a fairy tale feel. A lot of children probably disagree with their parents and it's added humor to see that she found a way to get rid of the father that had her all locked up.

[Dawn Draper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mediocre fairy tale. The story started as interestingly, had a strong rise of action and even climax but then it plummeted to a cruel abrupt death. It was like the author got called to dinner and just dropped his pencil.

[Nerd-Light-Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this unique tale! And I like that the heroine saves herself from being locked in the tower. This is a fun book to read with a little one. I enjoyed doing a silly accent for the king. :-)

[Miri Gifford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best. Princess book. Ever. And I really liked this review of it. Love it, and pretty sure it'll be great for storytime.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because she turns into a WOLF. Huff! Puff! Huff! Puff! She gets into the woods (Eek! Don't be scared folks!) She didn't get eaten by a wolf, but it did swallow her up at one point when the forest got bigger.

[Shannon Ozirny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maurice Sendak people will love the shout outs to Where the Wild Things are in this book's illustrations.

[Knitology]

Roselupin, a princess locked in a tower by her overprotective father, uses yarn to knit a red wolf suit to free herself.

[stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved, loved, loved this book, even more than my daughter. It's a great feminist story w/a little twist, gotta love it!

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

fun fairy tale about a girl locked in a tower to protect her from the world who escapes under the guise of being a red wolf. may work with preschoolers.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books where the heroine is creative in solving her problems. And I love books involving knitting. This was very cute.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reminds me of Sendak's Where the wild things are , but better.

[Rhosel Ceballo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for read-aloud. Children will find the ending surprising.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this story of a little red-haired princess who escapes her extremely overbearing, overprotective father with the help of a mysterious, magical box of yarn. fantastic illustrations, too.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well loved by my little girls - my favorite detail was the princess 'rescuing' herself from the tower

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. Way to take charge of destiny princess!