Thursday 26 May 2016

Wolfish Stew by Suzi Moore and Erica Salcedo (Bloomsbury Children's Books)

Sit down for a spell and let me tell you about a fiendish new book called "Wolfish Stew!"
Wolves in books. Sometimes we feel sorry for them even though most of the time they're up to no good, and are definitely the villain of the piece.

After reading "Wolfish Stew" to Charlotte, she had a rather glum expression on her face. Without venturing too much into spoiler territory, she didn't really like what happened to the fiendish, nasty, smelly, snaggle-toothed wolf in this story - which was a bit unexpected to say the least.

Suzi Moore's rhyming romp with fab illustrations from Erica Salcedo tells the tale of Little Grey, a happy and carefree rabbit who ventures out into the woods to gather some lovely grub for an evening meal.

Little Grey isn't alone however. A nasty wolf called Old Blue stalks Little Grey with a few ideas about rabbit based recipes. Time for some Wolfish Stew!

We've previously extolled the virtues of books that pull the rug out from under you at the last moment with a delicious dark little twist at their heart. "Wolfish Stew" does exactly that (we won't detail how, you've got to read the book to find out!) but see if you feel like Charlotte did at the end.

Charlotte's favourite bit: The wolf's knobbly knees! No hiding those in a bush!

Daddy's favourite bit: If you've ever felt a modicum of sympathy for Wile E. Coyote, Yosemite Sam, or indeed the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood you might not like how this one turns out but it's an entertaining and nicely twisty story with ace rhymes and fab illustrations.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Bloomsbury Children's Books)

"Wolfish Stew" 

Written by Suzi Moore

Illustrated by Erica Salcedo

Published by Bloomsbury Publishing

Publication Date: 19th May 2016