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Polly and Wolf
The Complete Polly and the Wolf
When Catherine Storr’s daughter was very small, she was afraid of the wolf under her bed, so every night her mother would tell her a story in which Polly outwitted the wolf. These bedtime stories eventually became the collection Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf , a wonderfully thrilling and reassuring series of adventures in which the clever, independent, and unstoppable Polly fools the persistent, hungry young wolf time and again. In a match much like Bugs Bunny and the Road Runner but more polite and quick-witted, Polly and the wolf develop ever-more complicated ways of turning the tables on each other as they grow older and, in Polly’s case at least, wiser. Three more collections of stories followed the original Clever Polly , all hilariously inventive variations on a much loved theme, and all of the stories are collected here for the first time.
304 pages, Hardcover
Published October 4, 2016
20 people are currently reading
131 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Storr
164 books30 followersAuthor Catherine Storr was educated at St. Paul's Girls' School and went on to study English at Newnham College, Cambridge. She then went to medical school and worked part-time as a Senior Medical Officer in the Department of Psychological Medicine of the Middlesex Hospital from 1950 to 1963.
Her first book was published in 1940, but was not successful. It was not until the 1950s that her books became popular. She wrote mostly children's books as well as books for adults, plays, short stories, and adapted one of her novels into an opera libretto. She published more than 30 children's books, but is best known for Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf and Marianne Dreams, which was made into a television series and a film.
Her first book was published in 1940, but was not successful. It was not until the 1950s that her books became popular. She wrote mostly children's books as well as books for adults, plays, short stories, and adapted one of her novels into an opera libretto. She published more than 30 children's books, but is best known for Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf and Marianne Dreams, which was made into a television series and a film.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 26, 2021
Cute, clever, kinda creepy.
My favorite story was the meta one where Wolf has read one of Storr's earlier stories about Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf and decides to write his own story showing that he is the smart one.
The illustrations are not like the cover, which is new. I don't know why they didn't use a Marjorie Ann Watts image.
My favorite story was the meta one where Wolf has read one of Storr's earlier stories about Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf and decides to write his own story showing that he is the smart one.
The illustrations are not like the cover, which is new. I don't know why they didn't use a Marjorie Ann Watts image.
June 6, 2018
I loved this story collection, despite being completely the wrong age for it. Polly outsmarts the stupid wolf every time, but he earnestly keeps trying to eat her. He is a lot like Wile E. Coyote, although less violent, and it just never works out for him. Clever Polly rather likes him, and often helps him out of difficult situations, and by the end of the book they are friends as well as foes. But of course she is never silly enough to trust him. He is, after all, a wolf. The illustrations match the feel of the story, and it is hard not to love this foolish wolf. According to the back cover, Storr started telling these as bedtime stories to her daughter who was afraid of the wolf under the bed, and they have that feel. Short, simple, funny, and reassuring, these would be great to read aloud.
February 18, 2017
I bought this - a childhood favourite - to pass on to a work colleague for her son but couldn't resist rereading it myself first. It's a really funny and wonderfully feminist fairy tale, as Polly constantly outwits the wolf. Their relationship is surprisingly sweet at times, with her having to rescue him at a few points - perhaps most hilariously when he kidnaps her ultra-demanding baby sister!
December 19, 2018
I read this when I was about nine, and loved the idea of a clever, kind girl constantly outsmarting a wolf who attempts new ways to capture and eat her. Each chapter is a new episode where the wolf tries to capture her, often playing with well-known fairy tales. The author wrote it for her niece who was scared of wolves in fairy tales, but I feel like this goes further in helping children establish resilience.
The wolf is not just a threat to be outsmarted but frequently a forlorn figure on which you show compassion. When Polly laughs at him, it is not unkindly, and when she is frightened she is still resourceful and calm.
We have the whole collection in this hardback edition, though reading through all four books in one go might be a little same-y after a while. I’m currently reading the first book (Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf) with my boy and it has a fairly high laughter-to-word ratio. This one brings together all four Polly books in a hardback edition with original illustrations – makes a lovely gift. A great series – highly recommended.
The wolf is not just a threat to be outsmarted but frequently a forlorn figure on which you show compassion. When Polly laughs at him, it is not unkindly, and when she is frightened she is still resourceful and calm.
We have the whole collection in this hardback edition, though reading through all four books in one go might be a little same-y after a while. I’m currently reading the first book (Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf) with my boy and it has a fairly high laughter-to-word ratio. This one brings together all four Polly books in a hardback edition with original illustrations – makes a lovely gift. A great series – highly recommended.
October 24, 2022
The genius of the Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf stories is hinted at in the title. This is a world where the wolf never shall be able to eat Polly as he wishes, while this does rather lower the stakes it allows the stories to allows them to develop the characters of Polly and the Wolf, and to develop their relationship.
The Wolf is a wonderful creation, yes he’s motivated to cook and eat Polly (it would appear most of wolf culture is food-based) and although he never succeeds he wakes each day with a brilliant new scheme to try. This means that although he are sometimes sorry for the predicaments that Wolf finds himself in, we know he brush himself off and try again with renewed excitement and confidence - which is oddly touching.
Written to help a real Polly overcome her fear of storybook wolves, many of them feature a take on classic fairy tales. Wolf tries to blow down her house (and then decides to try and blow it up). He plots to get to Granny’s house first but can’t navigate the tube lines - this book is clearly set in London, they go to Hampstead Heath and London Zoo. In one story, Wolf buys hair dye so he can be a fox, because foxes always win their stories. There is also a chapter in each book where Wolf supplies Polly with the wolf versions of nursery rhymes, I like how Wolf says that poetry needs to make someone feel something, usually hunger.
Some of the best stories are not based on anything. I loved when Wolf thought he was invisible and preceded to make an idiot out of himself but didn’t realise people could see him because he’s in London and Londoners are trained to ignore someone acting weirdly. The story where he gets trapped in the zoo and misunderstands all of Polly’s plans to get him out is also a favourite.
There are four Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf books, two written in the fifties, one in the eighties and one in the nineties. The two earlier ones are much of a piece, the stories in one could be in the other. The eighties collection seemed like a pale imitation of the earlier two but it’s the nineties one that’s strange. In one, Wolf goes to a plastic surgeon to help him with a disguise and is horrified at the maiming involved, and the fee. In another he goes to a Doctor and tells him about Polly, who suggests she might have hyperactivity and that she should cut down on dairy. Plastic surgery and ADHD should not exist in the fairytale world of Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf. However, that last collection also has a wonderful tale on the ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’ idea, having Wolf pose as a sheep in a brilliantly wooden school nativity play.
I read all four books together, which in retrospect is not something I recommend. Although previous adventures are alluded to, each chapter stands on its own and can get a little repetitive in succession.
The Wolf is a wonderful creation, yes he’s motivated to cook and eat Polly (it would appear most of wolf culture is food-based) and although he never succeeds he wakes each day with a brilliant new scheme to try. This means that although he are sometimes sorry for the predicaments that Wolf finds himself in, we know he brush himself off and try again with renewed excitement and confidence - which is oddly touching.
Written to help a real Polly overcome her fear of storybook wolves, many of them feature a take on classic fairy tales. Wolf tries to blow down her house (and then decides to try and blow it up). He plots to get to Granny’s house first but can’t navigate the tube lines - this book is clearly set in London, they go to Hampstead Heath and London Zoo. In one story, Wolf buys hair dye so he can be a fox, because foxes always win their stories. There is also a chapter in each book where Wolf supplies Polly with the wolf versions of nursery rhymes, I like how Wolf says that poetry needs to make someone feel something, usually hunger.
Some of the best stories are not based on anything. I loved when Wolf thought he was invisible and preceded to make an idiot out of himself but didn’t realise people could see him because he’s in London and Londoners are trained to ignore someone acting weirdly. The story where he gets trapped in the zoo and misunderstands all of Polly’s plans to get him out is also a favourite.
There are four Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf books, two written in the fifties, one in the eighties and one in the nineties. The two earlier ones are much of a piece, the stories in one could be in the other. The eighties collection seemed like a pale imitation of the earlier two but it’s the nineties one that’s strange. In one, Wolf goes to a plastic surgeon to help him with a disguise and is horrified at the maiming involved, and the fee. In another he goes to a Doctor and tells him about Polly, who suggests she might have hyperactivity and that she should cut down on dairy. Plastic surgery and ADHD should not exist in the fairytale world of Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf. However, that last collection also has a wonderful tale on the ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’ idea, having Wolf pose as a sheep in a brilliantly wooden school nativity play.
I read all four books together, which in retrospect is not something I recommend. Although previous adventures are alluded to, each chapter stands on its own and can get a little repetitive in succession.
August 30, 2017
Due to their voracious appetite, wolves have a nasty reputation in children's stories. Three such examples are Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, and Peter and the Wolf. Recently, I was introduced to a new set of stories that followed these same plot device of hungry wolf and innocent character trying not to be eaten. It is entitled The Complete Polly and the Wolf. Allow me to tell you a little bit about it.
The Complete Polly and the Wolf is a collection of four volumes of stories - Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf, Polly and the Wolf Again, Tales of Polly and the Hungry Wolf, and Last Stories of Polly and the Wolf. The volumes were written by Dr. Catherine Storr and were originally written for her daughter who was always afraid of a wolf under her bed. There are 36 stories total in this collection, each no more than a few pages. Like most wolf stories, the wolf is the villain only thinking about his appetite and trying to eat the child Unlike most wolf stories, the wolf and the would-be victim have a running dialogue. The Wolf and Polly discuss why he wants to eat her, how he plans to catch her, and why he never succeeds. The stories start out with her very young and progress in complexity as she grows older. The game borrows from fairy tales occasionally, as the Wolf reads a lot of books, so he is trying to draw on what he has read to eventually catch her and eat her. The closing story involves the Wolf being captured and Polly coming to his aid. She defends him so that the people will not kill him, but he ends up tricking her (for once) and escaping. The stories are cute and fun and a nice twist on the traditional wolf stories. I read them to my son at night and he thinks they are both funny and silly.
This book was provided to me for free by New York Review of Books in exchange for an honest review.
The Complete Polly and the Wolf is a collection of four volumes of stories - Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf, Polly and the Wolf Again, Tales of Polly and the Hungry Wolf, and Last Stories of Polly and the Wolf. The volumes were written by Dr. Catherine Storr and were originally written for her daughter who was always afraid of a wolf under her bed. There are 36 stories total in this collection, each no more than a few pages. Like most wolf stories, the wolf is the villain only thinking about his appetite and trying to eat the child Unlike most wolf stories, the wolf and the would-be victim have a running dialogue. The Wolf and Polly discuss why he wants to eat her, how he plans to catch her, and why he never succeeds. The stories start out with her very young and progress in complexity as she grows older. The game borrows from fairy tales occasionally, as the Wolf reads a lot of books, so he is trying to draw on what he has read to eventually catch her and eat her. The closing story involves the Wolf being captured and Polly coming to his aid. She defends him so that the people will not kill him, but he ends up tricking her (for once) and escaping. The stories are cute and fun and a nice twist on the traditional wolf stories. I read them to my son at night and he thinks they are both funny and silly.
This book was provided to me for free by New York Review of Books in exchange for an honest review.
May 9, 2021
We (my two children and I) loved this book so much! It was such good fun. I had a tape of the first book as a child myself but never knew there were sequels so I was super excited to get this compilation. I have to admit I did rather mimic the way the audio book narrator did the voice of the wolf as that is just how he will always be to me but it was so much fun reading it to my boys, waiting for them to get the jokes and hearing them laugh.
Clever, sassy, female main character but the book is not "girly" at all and will be enjoyed by boys and girls alike. (I deliberately read books with female leads to my boys to make sure they don't think they are "for girls" and this is a great one.)
Chapters are nice length to have one or two as a bedtime story and each is a little stand alone story with the characters building/growing as the books progress.
Probably suitable from about age 6 but equally can be enjoyed much older - my eldest is 12 and capable of much more challenging reading but he still really enjoyed it.
Clever, sassy, female main character but the book is not "girly" at all and will be enjoyed by boys and girls alike. (I deliberately read books with female leads to my boys to make sure they don't think they are "for girls" and this is a great one.)
Chapters are nice length to have one or two as a bedtime story and each is a little stand alone story with the characters building/growing as the books progress.
Probably suitable from about age 6 but equally can be enjoyed much older - my eldest is 12 and capable of much more challenging reading but he still really enjoyed it.
January 8, 2018
It's funny to think that just as Chuck Jones was creating the Wiley Coyote & Roadrunner series in Los Angeles, that Catherine Storr was writing her Polly and the Wolf stories. Both revolve around the same endlessly funny gag, but while Storr's tales are charming (and charmingly illustrated), somehow, Wiley Coyote's saga seems more universal.
November 26, 2021
All young listeners loved these stories and were always eager to find out just what that stupid wolf was going to try next. I found reading the entire omnibus a little tedious (it took almost three months) and probably should have stopped for a break after completing the first of the four books this one includes.
August 21, 2018
Thoroughly clever, fun, and laugh-out-loud funny. The poor wolf. The kind Polly, who is not quite kind enough to let herself be eaten by the wolf. I immensely enjoyed reading these aloud to my 5th and 1st graders. And they begged for the stories as well.
December 26, 2020
Poor wolf
I loved these stories as a little girl but always felt a little sorry for the wolf. Though not sorry enough to let him eat me. He was clever enough to shop, have a house and cook but not clever enough to catch Polly and gobble her up
I loved these stories as a little girl but always felt a little sorry for the wolf. Though not sorry enough to let him eat me. He was clever enough to shop, have a house and cook but not clever enough to catch Polly and gobble her up
July 22, 2017
Gwyn adored this collection of stories in which the wolf perpetually tries to eat Polly with the most ridiculous antics and she outwits him. I found them a bit repetitive, but what do I know?
August 21, 2019
Cute & funny stories to read aloud at bedtime.
August 22, 2020
Kinda awesome, kinda really repetitive. Even my kids didn’t want to finish it!
Want to read
April 3, 2021Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.
November 3, 2023
I haven't even finish reading this book, and already I need to review it.
It fell into my hands randomly, and I started reading it randomly. And it was everything I needed a book to be.
It fell into my hands randomly, and I started reading it randomly. And it was everything I needed a book to be.
July 28, 2025
This little book, which contains the entire series of Polly and the Wolf, was absolutely hilarious! Each story is somewhat formulaic in its setup--the Wolf wants to eat Polly, so he concocts a plan that Polly outsmarts--but the execution is always creative and funny. I especially enjoyed that Polly and Wolf develop an almost cordial relationship as the story progresses (even though he's still trying to eat her every chance he gets). All in all, a really fun collection of stories that I imagine would be great fun to read to children.
January 4, 2017
Absolutely gem of a children's book, ideal for bedtime reading to a child.
Each chapter is a new attempt by the ferocious but intellectually challenged wolf to fulfill his life long by quest to eat the tasty but unfortunately for him self-possessed and quick witted Polly.
The book is actually a compilation of four separate books - the first written in 1955 and the series not completed until in the 1980s. Clearly Storr's writing pace serves as a template for that of George Martin.
Each chapter is a new attempt by the ferocious but intellectually challenged wolf to fulfill his life long by quest to eat the tasty but unfortunately for him self-possessed and quick witted Polly.
The book is actually a compilation of four separate books - the first written in 1955 and the series not completed until in the 1980s. Clearly Storr's writing pace serves as a template for that of George Martin.
December 25, 2017
I had the Polly & the Wolf stories read to me a child in the 80's and I just finished reading them to my children, aged 9 and 8 to much fan-fare. I read them several classic books this year, and this is the only one where I had them begging for more. This is a delightful book about a wolf's hapless but tireless ploys to catch and devour the clever Polly.
September 15, 2016
The first couple stories are interesting and funny seeing how Polly outwits the wolf. But reading one story after another, well, gets a bit old. I would suggest pacing yourself on this compilation because it is a fun read.
January 5, 2017
Super funny. MT finished in two days. Every day he is back from school he would say oh that polly book and rushed to read it. The book features a rather stupid wolf so stupid that I sometimes have sympathy on it.
March 21, 2018
dated.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews