Where’s the Big Bad Wolf
By Eileen
Christelow
Bibliography
Christelow,
E. (2002). Where’s the big bad wolf? New
York, N.Y.:Clarion Books.
Summary
Police
Detective Phineas T. Doggedly works at catching the Big Bad Wolf. Every time he catches him the Wolf promises
not to do it again. The mystery arises
when the three little pigs’ houses begin to be blown away but the wolf has an
alibi every time claiming he is sick.
However, a certain sheep always seems to be in the vicinity, innocently
walking by; or is he?
Reviews
Elam, M., Jones, T. E., Toth, L.,
Charnizon, M., Grabarek, D., & Larkins, J. (2002). Where's the Big Bad
Wolf? (Book). School Library Journal, 48(9), 182
Gr 1-2 --A determined Detective Doggedly pursues the elusive BBW (Big Bad Wolf)
in a delicious parody of the traditional tale. Three dim-witted and naive pigs,
a wolf with
a taste for unusual costuming, and three sharp-eyed residents of the nearby
"Home for Elderly Cows" create a mystery worthy of the slightly
befuddled detective: who is destroying the pigs' houses, when the wolf is currently
hospitalized with mysterious flulike symptoms? Doggedly catches the culprit,
but one doubts that this "egg-snatching, pie-pinching, chicken-chasing,
pig-poaching" villain is ready to change his habits when released.
Christelow's pen-and-ink and gouache cartoons show sticks and straw flying
across pages, the not-too-bright protagonist, and a hilarious wolf in sheep's
clothing. Characters comment on all the goings-on in dialogue balloons that add
to the fun and humor. Pair this book with Jon Scieszka's True Story of the
Three Little Pigs (Viking, 1989), another choice for lovers of fractured tales.
WHERE'S THE BIG BAD WOLF? (Book). (2002). Kirkus Reviews,
70(14), 1028.
Three little pigs get some real bad advice from a
wolf in a
real goofy sheep disguise in this comical whodunit. The three little pigs are
having their homes blown dowry--and escaping by the hair of their
chinny-chin-chins--and Detective Doggedly believes it might be the work of the
shiftless, no-account neighborhood wolf,
the infamous BBW. But the only character found at the crime scenes is a
newcomer to town: Esmeralda the sheep. Sure, kids will note, Esmeralda their
foot, for her disguise is pretty transparent. She has also been giving the pigs
construction ideas: straw is good, twigs are good, and cardboard's not bad. Two cows
suggest a brick house, which foils the wolf and ends in his unveiling and
incarceration. Short-term incarceration, that is, as he's soon back, this time
tricked out as a horse, with more self-serving recommendations: "Pick peas
after midnight, when everybody is asleep. They'll taste sweeter." So what
if there are a few inexplicables here--How did the wolf con his way
into that hospital bed?--this is good clownish fun, and the rough-and-tumble
art keeps the farce bubbling. (Picture book. 4-7)
My
thoughts
This
is definitely for a younger elementary audience. The “mystery” is thinly veiled and a little
cheesy. I didn’t think too much of this
book, but Pre-K through 2nd grade might enjoy it.
How it
could be used in the library
This
could be used with an older group of students by paring it with various takes
on the Three Little Pigs, such as the True Story of the Three Little Pigs to
start a unit on fractured fairy tales.
