My First How to Catch the Big Bad Wolf

by Alice Walstead, Joel and Ashley Selby (Illustrator)

Step into your storybook and experience the magic of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling How to Catch brand in this sweet board book for little ones! Come along into an enchanted world to catch one of the most famous storybook mischief-makers: the big, bad wolf! After reading her favorite stories, one little girl hops into the pages, determined to trap the wily wolf with the help of Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, Hansel and Gretel, and more beloved characters. Filled with delightful nods to classic nursery rhyme and fairytale stories, cute rhyming text, and playful lures and traps, this adorable book is sure to spark reading, learning, and imagination for a new set of young How to Catch fans. My First How to Catch the Big Bad Wolf makes the perfect addition to any birthday gift, basket stuffer, holiday gift for babies and toddlers, or a bedtime read aloud for ages 0-3! Some of my favorite stories are fables and tales and nursery rhymes, And I keep hearing about a big, bad wolf who causes trouble sometimes. If I were in the stories, I know just what I'd do! I would set only the best traps, he wouldn't have a clue. Looking for more read aloud fun? Also in the How to Catch series:

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books

24 pages, Board book

Published March 1, 2023

Reviews

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

How To Catch the Big Bad Wolf is a cute picture book aimed at children toddlers and kindergarten aged children. The narrator is a young girl who loves fairytales. She has decided that the big bad wolf is a villain that needs to be taken care of before he hurts the other fairy tale characters. She uses three stories (The 3 Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood and The Boy Who Cried Wolf) and comes up with unique and creative ways to catch the big bad wolf. The illustrations by Joel and Ashley Selby are really cute and whimsical with lots of color and detail to make the story fun. We read this together and even the 8 yo was interested in the creative solutions, even though he said it couldn't happen. We discussed that they were fairytales and not real, so he was okay with that. The younger two enjoyed the story, but when I asked if they wanted to read it again, or if one of the older ones wanted to read it to me, they passed. This tells me that it is a one time read for us, so not a huge success.

[Paula Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am trying my hardest for 2023, to clear my books backlist and that means reading and reviewing books from Netgalley, that I have gotten in years past like this one. This was a very cute picture book aimed at children aged 3-6 years old. We meet our little girl narrator who loves fairytales as a child doesn't. Of course, as we all know the villain of most fairytales is a Big Bad Wolf. In How to Catch the Big Bad Wolf, the little girl will go through fairytales and nursery rhymes like The Boy Who Cried Wolf and the Three Little Pigs to Little Red Riding Hood and come up with some creative ways how to catch the big bad wolf before it can do any harm to the characters of the books in the stories. The illustrations created by Joel and Ashley Selby are also very beautiful and fun and exciting that makes children and adults want to pick up this picture book. This is one picture book you can't go wrong with as what child doesn't like fairytales?

[Steff Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

My First How to Catch the Big Bad Wolf is a simple, but cute children’s book that pays homage to the fairytales of our past and the big scary wolf that dominated them, from Little Red Riding Hood, to The Boy Who Cried Wolf, and finally to The Three Little Pigs we see a little girl work through her feelings about the wolf and her desire to stop him from ever being bad again.

The illustrations are cute and colorful, engaging enough to keep any young reader interested. It does assume a little knowledge about the three stories above, so it may be best to introduce those to your kiddo before reading this one but it’s not one hundred percent necessary.

Truth be told, it’s a pretty fun story. I don’t think it’s one that I am super interested in getting, though. I feel like this is the kind of book you pick out at the library and don’t ever really revisit.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Larissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book, as did my three year old. It is so much fun! I love how all the story connects all the fairytales and turns it into one grand adventure. I think that wolf might just have found his match! Who doesn't love a good sweet trap. Kids are going to love this book. What book loving kid hasn't dreamed of diving into a favorite story and becoming part of it. I can't wait to recommend this book and use it for Storytime. Thank you so much to Sourcebook Kids and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This rhyming picture book follows a familiar rhythm and pace while telling how to catch a familiar character: the big bad wolf. Part of a series, this book joins others like How to Catch a Garden Fairy, following similar formatting and style. Every second page has a short 4 line stanza. The font is fairly large and easy to read, and is supported by large, colourful illustrations. I think this would be a fun book for young readers and is likely to be a popular series. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

[Megan Bey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book that combines a lot of nursery rhymes. That being said, if a child is not familiar with nursery rhymes, I feel it loses its charm. The book does have great illustrations and could be used to introduce nursery rhymes too.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Kids for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

[Lisa Gisèle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Cute little story book full of imagination and bright colors. All the imaginative ways the child would help her story book friends.

[Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adorable quick story encouraging young readers to enter their favorite stories and solve the plot with their character friends.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Refreshing take on melding stories and fables and other takes to improve the outcome.