Wolf!

Wolf!, written by Becky Bloom and illustrated by Pascal Biet, is a hoot for adults and children alike. 

A traveling wolf decides to head to a farm in search of a meal. When he arrives, it is immediately apparent that this is no ordinary farm - a pig, a cow, and a duck are sitting in the sun, reading.

He manages to scare the chickens and rabbits with his big and dangerous wolf routine, but the pig, the cow, and the duck are unfazed and send him away with the words, "This is a farm for educated animals," ringing in his ears.

And so the wolf embarks on a journey to learn to read. He attends school and learns the basics. But the farm animals tell him he has a long way to go.

He heads for the public library and reads piles of "dusty old books," but though they acknowledge his improvement, they still aren't impressed.

Finally, he takes the last of his money and purchases his very own book. He practices, and practices, and practices and finally reaches his goal.

I loved watching the wolf become "civilized." He gets himself some hipster glasses and a vest, starts ringing the doorbell instead of barging in with a growl, and best of all, the animals beg him to just read one more.

Bloom tells this story of the hard work and persistence required to learn how to read in an engaging and wry style. Biet's watercolor illustrations beautifully    and I love how he has worked humans into the background of the story as observers who seem to be more afraid of the wolf than his natural prey are.

Fun Fact: Both Bloom and Biet live in France.

Wolf! is available through Amazon if you can't find it at the library.

• Explicit Instruction posted this video of Anita Archer reading Wolf! to a group of second graders, teaching vocabulary and comprehension skills along the way.

• KTE Reading has posted this read aloud of Wolf! on YouTube.

• Scholastic's Readers Theatre of Wolf!