Nice Work, Little Wolf! - Hardcover

The storybook world of pigs and wolves living in endless conflict is given a new twist in this outing, as a young wolf in search of excitement comes to live with a family of porkers. True to their porcine instincts, the lazy pigs follow a firmly established family pecking order, and Little Wolf bears the brunt of their indolence. The hapless animal (whom the pigs mistake for a puppy) is assigned numerous, increasingly arduous tasks, which he accomplishes with notable capability. Nature takes its course and Little Wolf becomes a big wolf, ultimately manifesting his true nature with decidedly mixed results. Though Offen's bustling, rainbow-hued illustrations possess an Easter egg-like charm, her tale is flat and repetitious--and, youngsters will no doubt feel, illogical. Even absurd premises must have some rational grounding: Why does this protagonist subject himself to the pigs' outrageous demands? Hasn't his mother noticed her offspring's absence? Even little ones, unfortunately, won't find satisfactory answers here. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Little Wolf's mother is on the way for nails to mend their tumbledown house when he hops over a fence and lands in the lazy pigs' family; he's promptly entrapped by their demands, passed from Pop through Mom to two fat piglets, who give Little Wolf his orders. As the tasks grow, so does he: From fetching the paper, he goes on to building a pool and a new house before (now fully grown) his patience breaks and he chases out his tormenters and wails for his mother--who turns up to share the fine new digs. Offen illustrates her delightful turnabout tale in cheery, deftly limned pen and watercolor, her complacent pigs and amusing details echoing Leslie Brooke. Good story, good fun. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.