A Well-Mannered Young Wolf

by Jean Leroy, Matthieu Maudet (Illustrator)

One morning, a young wolf eagerly sets out on his first hunting trip. But before he can devour his prey, he must honor their final wishes, just as his parents taught him to do. But the wolf’s would-be meals aren’t quite as honorable as he is! Can common courtesy prove effective amidst the wild laws of nature?

Genres: Picture Books, Humor, Animals, Childrens, Wolves, Fiction, Storytime

40 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2015

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't care for this. It lacked something... like an ending. It just left me with a weird feeling. The wolf is all about manners and being honest, then he eats the animals. The end.

[Melki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is easily my favorite kids' book this year. (Yeah, yeah . . . I know it's only February!) The ending is blacker than night, and I loved it!

Hey, everybody's gotta eat, ya know?

[Gayatri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wolf can be honorable and still have his cake and eat it too.

[Donalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun twist on classic wolf stories.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The French, they have different sensibilities than we do. And I like their children's books much more.

[Mathew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book from the first reading. It has an utterly satisfying ending which made me laugh out loud and which, much to my delight, many other reviewers have detested. The story tells of a good little wolf whose parents taught him the importance of good manners. On he goes out hunting (a wolf has to eat, you know), he catches a chicken and a rabbit only to be tricked. What is the point, he thinks, of having manners if you're left with an empty stomach? The answer, of course, lies in his third encounter with a young boy whose parents brought him up in a similar vein to the wolf's.

Full of wickedly tongue-in-cheek French humour, A Well-Mannered Young Wolf is a gem and a great challenge to all those bubble-wrapped 'everyone is happy in the end' stories which children can become so accustomed too. The repetition of the wolf capturing the unsuspecting prey, his mounting frustration as he is tricked all help build up the most incredible comic timing throughout until the punchline is delivered at the end. I found it hilarious and deliciously wicked - I wonder what you would think of it.

[Kaethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for my 365 Kids Book challenge. You can see all the books on their own shelf.

And since it is October, I am also embracing books which are at all remotely Halloweeny: in this case a wolf out hunting and possible murder.

A new hunter sets out on his first solo hunt, armed with a butterfly net. He encounters a rabbit, and inquires as to its last wish, which is to be read a story. While the polite wolf goes home for a book, the rabbit runs away. Next the wolf captures a chicken who when asked, requests music as a last wish. When the wolf comes back from his house with his guitar the chicken has vanished. Next the wolf captures a boy. I enjoy stories of wolves who don’t meet any of the traditional fairy tale stereotypes, as in fact, real wolves do not.

Library copy

[Pamela Powell · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not like this book. It's very rare for me to say that. The beginning held so much promise then the end is just awful.

[Tara Harries · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and I think children would too. The young fox has been brought up to have good manners and so when he captures his prey, he asks them for their final wish before he eats them. As he has good manners he has to respect the wish but in this story this makes him end up being tricked by various different animals and them escaping. He then comes across a boy who has similar manners and does not trick the fox and the story has an ends with the fox being happy as the boy leads him straight to the two animals who tricked him.

[Holly Payne]

This book would create good discussion in a classroom about the idea of right and wrong. The children could discuss the problems encountered along the way and how each of the animals have reacted to the wolf. The children could discuss the wolf himself and how he may go against stereotypes, until the end.

[Gemma Ford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a traditional 'happy ending'... Interesting morals!

[Christie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book did not go in the direction I had expected. As the title tells, this story is about a well-mannered young wolf in search of his next meal. He offers each of his prospective meals a last wish, just as his parents had instructed him to do. As he is attempting to fill each wish his meals escaped (can you blame them!?). Poor little wolf finds himself hangry in no time and when he stumbles upon those who tricked him he is not as well-mannered as he was when they first met.

This book was morbidly funny. Not at all what I expected. I'd use caution if introducing it to a sensitive child. I'm not completely positive what message the author was hoping to portray. Don't be mean to polite people? Don't hang out in the woods with hungry wolves, well-mannered or otherwise? Don't leave your dinner unattended? Don't lie? Whatever the message this book was entertaining and engaging. The illustrations were simple and lovely. They reminded me of an old fashioned story book.

[jennyreadit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little Wolf has been taught well and to always grant last wishes. But, doing so may keep him hungry. When Rabbit asks for a story as a last wish, Little Wolf has to run home to get a book and is surprised to find that Rabbit has escaped. When he captures Chicken and has to honor Chicken's last wish, Little Wolf is foiled again. Determined to not lost his third meal of the day, a Boy, Little Wolf still does the right thing to honor Boy's last wish of a drawing. Boy is so excited about how well Little Wolf sketched him, that he wants to show it to his friends. Readers are left to their own devices in the surprise ending... in the style of Jon Klaussen. The characters are sketched well and likeable and the four theme colors of brown, red, yellow and white actually support the story. Readers of all ages will want to read this again and again once they "get" the ending.
So where do good manners get you? Hunger and salvation. This is definitely a purchase worthy book.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 1 out of 5]

Leroy, Jean A Well-Mannered Young Wolf, Illustrated by Maudet, Matthieu. PICTURE BOOK. Eerdman, 2016. $16.99. Content: G
A wolf is sent alone into the forest to capture dinner. He meets a variety of animals, all of whom get a chance to have a last wish granted. Each animal asks for something that the wolf must go back to his house to get, and they promise to wait. Of course, not wanting to be eaten, they break the promise and are gone. When wolf meets a human who keeps his promise, things go much differently, especially for those who broke their promises.
This is an odd book. Is the moral of the story that lying is so bad you deserve to be eaten for it? or that humans are just oblivious? The ending is a bit grim for many readers. The illustrations feature simple and subdued colors.

EL(K-3) -NO Reviewer: Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.
http://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2016/...

[Melanie Brault · Rating 5 out of 5]

De l’humour noir! J’adore ce genre d’album 😂

[Kid Lit Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Well-Mannered Young Wolf certainly delivers.

A young wolf’s parents teach him to be an honorable young pup. Out on his first solo hunt, the young wolf quickly captures a rabbit. Being the honorable young wolf he is, Wolf asks Rabbit, “What is your last wish before I eat you?”

Not having a story with him, and not being able to say no, the young wolf runs home for his favorite book. Rabbit, held captive by the young wolf’s net, assures the young hunter, “I won’t move a muscle, I promise!”

Kids will love A Well-Mannered Young Wolf simply for the story. Maudet’s comic-like illustrations will draw children into the story, and then the humor will keep them turning pages, even as they figure out what occurs next.

A Well-Mannered Young Wolf looks like a cute story, and it is, yet the themes of honor and deception give kids much to consider. Leroy also gives kids a classically outlined story.

Originally reviewed on the New York Journal of Books. To read the full review, go to: http://bit.ly/NYJBWellManneredYoungWolf

[Joel Hopkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clearly illustrated by Maudet, the book initially defies character tropes typified by wolves in children’s story books.

As the book progresses, the wolf has characteristics which imply that readers may believe that he has the ability to change. The characters the reader expect to convince the wolf to change his behaviour continually deceive the young and naive wolf who’s character worsens as the book progresses.

The illustrations use the colours Amber and red to perfectly distinguish the emotions of the wolf, defining him as Amber, almost passive aggressive with a pleasant character which could turn good (green) but instead, the background turns red whenever the wolf turns into an aggressor.

THE END IS FRUSTRATING

[Catherine Austen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious. I loved this book. The character of the wolf is priceless. Perhaps I wouldn't have loved the ending so much if I'd been reading it aloud to a tiny tot, but hey, I wasn't, so it was great. In fact, it sparked a philosophical discussion about the applicability of rules and manners to life-and-death struggles. If I were reading this to a four-year-old, I'd likely make up something about how the rabbit and chicken outwitted the well-mannered wolf once again before he got them back to his den--partly because, like many parents who are well aware that their children are more prey than predator, I don't like stories where the prey dies in the end, and partly because I really think that buttoned-up wolf would fall for another trick.

[Stefanie Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young wolf catches his prey. He allows them each one wish (no, freedom does not count). After each wish he has to go home to fulfill it. When he returns, his prey has vanished. Understandably, he gets more and more aggravated. Finally, he meets a boy who keeps his word and in the final scene, meets the previous prey who ran from him. I won't say exactly what happened, but it's reminiscent of Klassen's This Is Not My Hat. Kids will surely have a reaction at the end. Simple story and text, but very fun.

[Ina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Filled with humor (and justice!) this is the charming story of a naive, well-mannered wolf on his first solo hunting trip. He catches a rabbit and a chicken, both of which take advantage of his good manners to escape. The ending is ambiguous enough that this story will not scare anyone, but it would appear that karma doesn't favor those that lie and manipulate others. The illustrations are bright and filled with humor and are the perfect accompaniment to the text.

[Elizabeth S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hillarious, but in a slightly macabre manner. Goes to show how important it is to be polite and nice. Check out the spoiler section for more detail if you are worried.

The animals that weren't polite and nice are no longer present on the last page. The inference is that the wolf ate them. Some kids wouldn't notice. Some kids would notice and laugh. And some kids would notice and cry.

[Tricia Gleason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever! I am trying to avoid going 'spoiler' here. This is a story about a well-mannered young wolf who is trying to catch himself a meal, but runs into some tricky shysters. He stays true to his own character and something works out for him in the end. I will leave it at that. Fun, original story. Not what I expected, but it kept my attention and gave me a few smiles.

[Katy Jean Vance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute. :) It reads like a knockoff of I Want My Hat Back, but it’s not quite as good. That said, while I didn’t enjoy it as much as I Want My Hat Back, it makes my niece and nephew roll with laughter. I liked the twist at the end, the similar use of color to demonstrate emotions, and the homicidas humor. That said, it felt too much like I Want My Hat Back without the exciting shifty eyes. :)

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young worf sets off to catch dinner but each prey asks for a last wish. While he is off completing the last wish each prey escapes. What will eh ever do? Cute take on manners. Ending was funny for me but I'm not sure how young children will like it. Preschool and up for humor and subject.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The limited color palette was a bit of a negative when it came to this book--but the story and the dialogue were clever and very. very funny--especially with the not-so-surprising but still funny twist at the end. Well worth the read for the ending alone.

[Victoria Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wolf with excellent manners was taught by his parents that, "a last wish must always be respected." This proves problematic when hunting not-so-well-mannered prey who do not keeps their promises.
Finally, manners prevail and those who have them are rewarded. For fans of Klassen and the like.

[Villain E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny story and art. An anthropomorphized wolf goes for his first hunt in the woods (using a net). He catches his prey, but offers them one final wish, and they keep tricking him and leaving. How rude.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, with an ambiguous ending. I'll be curious to see what the kindergarteners think about it.

[Sarah Nean BRUCE · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book to 1st and 2nd graders today. They were absolutely ENGROSSED!
What a great story. What a great ending.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

*snicker*