Little Wolf's Song

by Britta Teckentrup

Is a wolf who can’t howl a wolf at all? A magical story about finding your own voice.
Even though Little Wolf's mom, dad, sister, and brothers all have their own special song, he can only manage a poor, pitiful squeak. His siblings tease “A wolf who can't howl is no wolf at all!” But one snowy day, Little Wolf finds himself lost and alone in the woods—and underneath a glistening, perfect full moon, he discovers his own special, beautiful voice. Bestselling author and artist Britta Teckentrup has created a magical, heartwarming story that children will love to read again and again.

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

24 pages, Board Book

First published September 1, 2010

About the author

Britta Teckentrup was born in Germany and moved to England in 1988. She is the author and illustrator of many books for children. She now lives in Berlin with her husband and young son.

Reviews

[Eline]

3,5 ⭐

[Mehsi]

Een erg leuk en lief boek over een kleine wolf. Het einde was echt zo zoet.

[Denise みか Hutchins]

Since wolves are my favorite animals, and the art style seemed so lovely, I really wanted to like this book. Unfortunately, there were a couple areas that dampened the experience for me. For one, there was a subtle reinforcement of stereotypical gender roles (e.g. while the father has a "strong" howl, the mother has a "motherly" howl). For two, the expressions on the wolf characters didn't match the story at important points (e.g. when the text says "But he was lost!" I'd expect Little Wolf to look worried or sad, but he just had a smile that seemed more bored or unaware than anything else). I would have preferred tension to be built through the use of varied expressions, or else an obvious display of body language that the children who are the target audience of this book would be able to relate to, rather than always showing the wolves with smiles regardless of the situation. All that being said, the art still is beautiful, so I was able to enjoy that aspect of the book, if nothing else.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams]

Poor Little Wolf. He can't howl like other wolves can. Some people tease him. But his parents have faith that when the time is right he's going to howl just fine. A delightful story of a little one's hardship and a parent's trust.

* Talking Points - Do we tend to get better at things as we grow? Should we feel bad if our older brothers or sisters are better about something now? If we are not good at something now does that mean that we won't be good at something later? What things are you better at now than you were were when you first tried them?

** Essential Oil Pairing Tip - To me the perfect blend to diffuse while reading this story is doTERRA''s Siberian Fir (When I think wolves I think Siberia) and Bergamot. The fir will smell like walking through a forest and the Bergamot is the #1 essential oil that helps you be happy with who you are.

[Linda Lipko]

Delightfully rendered, this is a book for children, but also those like me who enjoy stories I've never heard when I was little, and now as an adult, I appreciate the artistry of brightly colored birds who follow little wolf.

Little wolf cannot howl like his siblings. And, naturally he is made fun of. Feeling sad and dejected, he takes a trip into the woods. He gets lost and is very upset. Now the darkness enfolds him, and snow is falling dramatically as he looks up in the sky to see huge, bright moon. Seeing the magical moon, he feels ready to try to howl once again.

He is successful. When he howls, his father finds him and takes him home.

This is a lovely book for a small child! The little wolf gains a sense of empowerment!

[Het boekenrijk]

Het geluid van kleine wolf is een fijn prentenboek van Britta Teckentrup. Kleine Wolf woont hoog in de besneeuwde bergen. Alles is perfect, behalve één ding: hij kan niet huilen zoals een echte wolf!
In dit korte en misschien wat voorspelbare avontuur gaar Wolf op zoek naar zijn stem. Een leuk boek met mooie, duidelijke prenten, dat jonge kleuters zeker zal kunnen boeien.

[Christine]

Cute story about a little wolf who can't howl properly. Pretty illustrations.

[KC]

I love Britta Techentrup and her work. Wolf gets lost but a simple howl helps him find his way.

[Liz C]

Families, wolves, snow.

[Peggy]

A beautiful story of a baby wolf who cannot howl like everyone else. It is a moving tale of persistence and determination that many children will be able to relate to.

[Lily]

For Xander.

[Joan Arbogast]

This tender story is reassuring.
Great little daddy & me book to share with toddlers.

[Brittany Perry]

A lot of people ask how I rate children's books on my youtube and goodreads reviews. Well its really easy because I have a kid! My son rates these books. Not literally but if he picks up a book more than once and wants to read it over and over again its a four or five depending on what message it sends. A negative review is a book that I have tried over and over to read to him and it just didn't take.
That being said this book was a very positive reading experience and for the last couple of days my son has read this book ten times or more. The illustrations are cute the wording is simple and bold and the message is a very sweet one. I don't want to give away spoilers.

[Carolynne]

It's a tried-and-true story (a little child, or animal, cannot speak until a traumatic event evokes speech) but what makes this book special are the hand printed and collage illustrations, deeply textured in cool, wintry colors. The landscape is spare and snowy and clean, and the story is also spare, in a large font with lots of white space, making this a good book for young children, who will identify with little wolf, especially in the final scenes when he sings together with his family. This would make a good interactive story hour selection. No lexile measure is available.

[Jess Brown]

Why do wolves howl during the full moon? Because that's when Little Wolf found his voice. The illustrations are so adorable, they'll make you melt. The story isn't anything to write home about, but I can't help but love it because of how cute it is! It's not exactly a pourquoi tale, but it's as close as you'll get to being one and for such a young age, it's perfect. Elements of winter make it a nice seasonal read as well.

[Heidi-Marie]

A story and illustrations children will enjoy--especially those who often feel behind or "less." Nice little lesson at the end. A bit on the cutesy side, but many will enjoy the book. I don't think I'd read it in a storytime, but I may booktalk it for the preschool crowd. A good choice for a lap-read.

[Laura]

A cute story about a little wolf who can't howl. The story has a very predictable plot and the illustrations are very attractive. Great book for reading to young and early readers. Recommended for K, other elementary students might find it a bit young.

[Shannon]

I imagine this would be a good book for parents needing reassurance that their child is OK even if they take a little longer to find themselves. It's in the same vein as Leo the Late Bloomer. Features cut paper art, if you're doing a study of the medium.

[Sarah Metts]

I really enjoy reading this book and, for the kids that I have read it to, the story is engaging. After we are done reading the story, I lead the children in a group howl. We "trace" the howl with our fingers up and then down to draw a heart in the air.

[Katie]

Sweet. Pretty illustrations.

[Jeanne]

Myth, of a sort, about wolves howling at the full moon. Little Wolf finds his voice.

[Sarah]

I loved the artwork in this book - in fact, that's why I picked it up. I saw it on display at the library. It tells a sweet story. If used during storytime, it offers opportunities to howl.

[Nancy Jo Lambert]

A perfectly lovely book, but not that best book. Well written, nicely illustrated, just not my favorite. Young children will certainly enjoy this one though.

[Kris]

Great story with nice message for Preschool story time. Similar to Leo The Late Bloomer.

[Jannah]

Cute illustrations.
tl;dr Little Wolf is the only one in his family who can't howl. Will he ever learn?

[Tina B]

illustrations have a great texture, simple plot of growing up, wolves