The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

This rollicking retelling of Aesop, said PW , ``offers a fresh slant on the boy trickster of fable . '' Ages 5-up. (Feb.)

School Library Journal

Gr 2-5 Don't let the title fool you: this is not Aesop in any shape or form. Willy was a boy who lived on one side of the mountain. On the other side lived a nameless but hungry wolf. The wolf would sometimes don his dinner jacket to go over the mountain and feast on people. Willy often cried ``wolf'' to get out of whatever he didn't want to do, from taking a bath to his violin lessons, and sometimes just for the fun of it. Of course, no one believed him. Poised above Willy with knife and fork and salt and pepper, the wolf hears the unsympathetic, stern adults say, ``You shouldn't have told so many lies!'' They get eaten first, and then the wolf has Willy for dessert. The moral of this tale, says Ross, is ``C'est la vie. '' Jaunty, colorful, cartoon-like illustrations (reminiscent of Steig) coupled with a terse text do not make this a picture book. It is instead a satire for older children who are fond of Roald Dahl's brand of grisly humor. Maria B. Salvadore, District of Columbia Pub . Lib .