The Boy Who Cried Wolf (Pied Piper Paperbacks)

This is the most hilarious children's book! We read it in a doctor's office and I laughed out loud, then went out and bought a copy for every child in the extended family - gave them as birthday presents! My 2 sons were 4-6 when we first read it and had no problem with it. It takes someone with absolutely zero sense of humor to complain about this book - maybe they didn't know it was a comedy up front. I wish this guy would rewrite more old stories.

An interesting retelling of the classic Aesop's Fable, Ross gives us Willy, a spoiled child who preys on the genuine fears of his parents, grand parents and fellow villagers by crying wolf to get out of any task he finds boring or otherwise not to his liking...he cries WOLF, to get out of his bath...his violin lesson and so on. As per the original, he does so to great effect...but the wolf gets wind of this and comes to teach little Willy a lesson (and have him self a fine boy-sized snack as well). In a sudden twist at the end, the wolf consumes the entire village (outrageous) and then the spoiled Willy for desert. I found the ending to be much darker than the original but the light-hearted and nearly whimsical illustrations allow the ending to seem less horrible than it really is. I rather enjoyed the specter of the wolf running after little Willy knife and fork in hand, dressed formally in a tux (for he had fine manners, don't you know). Overall I give it four stars; it's a fun read though sensitive readers (parents and/or children) might not like the more gruesome ending Ross supplies in this version. We found the illustrations to be quite fun and the text to be a refreshing deviation from the standard. I'd certainly buy a copy for my home library because I think it's an fun variation on this theme. One final note...as with the grim ending, there is one illustration where you can "see" a bit of dangling penis along with his rather rosy cheeks in the bathroom scene which I thought was amusing but which some parents my object to. This book is probably best for slightly older children (5-8) who are already familiar with the original and who are beginning to explore variations of various children's fairytales, folklore, and fables.

This is definitely a little darker than the original - the wolf does not eat sheep, but people (I know that's unrealistic), and at the end of the story eat eats the entire village. C'est la vie. In this house, pretend cannibalism is all the rage. Like adult/child pairs everywhere we say things like "Oh, you're so cute I could eat you up!" and so on, and we talk about how when we eat chicken we're eating something that yes, used to be alive. (We also recite the absurd little nursery rhyme "Baby and I got baked in a pie".) We find the illustrations in this book hilarious, probably because they're so over the top, and done in a light-hearted fashion. (The less graphic illustrations of Heckedy Peg were done in a more serious fashion and we couldn't finish that book.) Some people have commented about "OMG! This book shows a penis!" After reading those reviews I took my book to check. They're right. In the scene where Willie cries wolf to avoid taking a bath, you do see him from behind and there is a little dangly bit there. You really have to look closely to see it. This doesn't bother me. Half of all young children do have penises, and the rest of them, if they happen to have younger brothers, will likely see a penis in the exact same context before they turn ten. It's a non-sexual illustration. If you're concerned about that sort of thing, please pre-read before you purchase. But I recommend this book heartily :)

This is a great picture book for an older child. The end is not the traditional ending and would upset younger children. The illustrations are humorous and add a lighthearted feel to the book. The bottom line: Enjoy this book, but read it with discrection.

Willy "cries wolf" every time he has to do something he doesn't want to do . . . like take a bath . . . until one day a wolf actually does come to town. Please don't listen to the critics. Kids just LOVE this book and the silly illustrations simply add to the fun (a man in a wheelchair stiking Willy over the head with his cane). Have some respect for their intelligence. Kids just wanna have fun. Perfect for Kindergarten to Grade 3. A twist on the beloved fairy tale.