Review by Booklist Review
In this twist on the classic pig-wolf relationship dynamic, three little circus pigs holler to Roll up! Roll up! Roll up! and see the mighty, wild wolf they've captured. They grandstand as they heap indignities upon the long-suffering creature from dressing him in a big red bow and riding him bareback to throwing knives at him and sawing him in half. Each event ends with the boast, Wolf won't bite! Of course, they take it all a step too far when they show off their ability to put their heads right inside his hairy, gaping maw (not to worry: no swine were hurt in the making of this picture book). With text set in a fancy circus-poster typeface, bombastic artwork floating against a spare white background, and a highly shoutable refrain, this playful picture book is tailor-made for group read-alouds. Giggles all but guaranteed.--Chipman, Ian Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Gravett (Blue Chameleon) lets three watercolor-and-pencil circus pigs do the storytelling as they capture a wolf and trot it through an embarrassing series of performances, pushing it right to the edge of its wolfly patience. "I can stand him on a stool!" the pompous ringmaster pig says while the wolf poses obediently, holding up a paw. "I can dress him in a bow," says a pig in a tutu, the wolf adorned with an enormous red ribbon. "I can ride him like a horse," says the third pig, who wears a strongman's suit and balances on the wolf's back, "but Wolf won't bite!" he proclaims, concluding with three staccato syllables that children will quickly learn to shout in chorus. Delicious circus-style lettering marches across the pages as the pigs grow ever bolder with the wolf. The black, white, and red palette recalls Ian Falconer's Olivia, and the pigs have some of her in-your-face bombast, but it's Gravett's wolf who's the sympathetic character in this case. Readers who see themselves as pushed and prodded by similarly obnoxious adults will let out a sigh of relief when the wolf rebels. Ages 2-6. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-Wolf is the underdog in Gravett's story about three bigwig circus pigs. The tuxedoed ringmaster, muscle-shirted strongman, and tutu-clad acrobat have gone hunting with a huge butterfly net and caught a large, unkempt gray wolf. With hoopla and dramatic typeface, the pigs put him through his paces: "I can make him jump through hoops!" "I can shoot him through the air!" "I can lift him off the ground!" "I can make him dance a jig." but (to quote the confident refrain) "WOLF WON'T BITE!" Truly, the creature looks more perplexed and put-upon than fierce through most of these trials. Gravett's watercolor and oil pencil illustrations, which have the endearingly old-fashioned simplicity of a circus poster, feature three plucky, competitive pigs who take no notice of their star attraction's facial expressions. Readers, though, can't help wondering whether it's time to start worrying. Wolf Won't Bite! is an entertaining and original spin on the old wolf-and-pigs theme. It will delight children.-Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Creating a circus sideshow with the wolf as its unwilling star, three pigs enjoy taunting a captured wild wolf. The pigs pull up to the circus with the wolf inside a decorated rolling cage, his head and tail protruding from each end, and seem determined to humiliate him at every opportunity. They stand him on a stool, tie an oversized, ridiculous bow around his neck, ride him like a horse, make him jump through hoops, throw knives at him, shoot him through the air like a cannonball, even saw him in two, magician style. No matter what these vindictive pigs do, "Wolf won't bite!" is the joyous refrain of the porcine tormentors. The pigs' bravado and the wolf's compliance seem to have no bounds until the final taunting is just too much for the wolf. Gravett's impeccable pacing, sly visual clues, and clever use of white space elevate this universal story of gloating gone wrong. What appear first to be circus poster fonts turn out to be carefully drawn individual typefaces for each character. The wolf has exactly one word in the book (the last word, of course), and his typeface is deliciously hairy. The wolf's expression, which reflects each fresh indignity, changes ever so slightly at the end to warn the reader that the wolf has Had Enough. The color palette -- heavy on the red and gray -- is reminiscent of that of Falconer's Olivia, and it is quite possible that these three pigs would enjoy her friendship very much. robin l. smith (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
(Picture book. 2-5)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
