Wolves have probably been a part of storytelling since language began. I never set out to scare children at story time, but the occasional delicious thrill is just part of the activity. Here are two titles that always return the desired response, with a laugh thrown in.

Both of these books are reprints from the New York Review of Books, Children’s Collection. Great authors like T.H. White, Margery Sharp, Rumer Godden, Robert Lawson, Astrid Lindgren, E. Nesbit, Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire and many others are in the collection. If you have not already discovered these books, visit the NYRB site for titles that are golden standards in children’s literature.

“Wolf Story” by William McCleery with illustrations by Warren Chappell was originally published in 1947. This is the story of a father telling a bedtime story to his young son. It is told in 10 short chapters, which make it a good choice for reading at the end of class, or at bedtime.

The author’s words:

“Make it that a wolf lived in a deep dark forest,” said the boy

“Please,” said the man, “Anything but a wolf. A weasel, a ferret, a lion, an elephant….”

“A wolf,” said the boy.

“Well, all right,” groaned the man, “but please don’t sit up in bed. Put your head on the pillow and shut your eyes.”

“O.K.,” said the boy. He turned his pillow over so that it would be cool against his cheek.

“So,” said the man. “In the forest lived a stupid old wolf, too tired to do any harm.”

“No!” cried the boy, sitting up in bed again. “The wolf is fierce! Terribly terribly fierce!!”

“Haven’t we had enough stories about terribly fierce wolves?” cried the man.

“NO!”

The wolf is after Rainbow, a chicken owned by the Tractorwheel family. Five-year-old Jimmy Tractorwheel is not about to let him snatch her. I read this to second grade students. Chapter 10 is pure comedy just right for that age group! Don’t miss the joy of reading this one aloud.

“The Complete Polly and the Wolf” is all four of the” Polly and the Wolf” books written by Catherine Storr between 1955 and 1990. They began as stories for her youngest daughter Polly, who was convinced that a wolf lived under her bed. In each story Polly shows herself to be more than a match for a hungry wolf prowling the neighborhood. The wolf knows how things should work out, after all, he has read Little Red Riding Hood, the wolf version, in which the wolf enjoys a good meal…….

Here is an excerpt from “Little Polly Riding Hood” in book one:

“Where does your grandmother live, Polly Riding Hood?”

“Over the other side of town,” answered Polly.

The wolf frowned.

“It ought to be “Through the wood.” he said “But perhaps town will do. How do you get there, Polly Riding Hood?”

“First I take a train and then I take a bus,” said Polly.

The wolf stamped his foot.

“No, no, no, no!” he shouted. “That’s all wrong. You can’t say that. You’ve got to say, ‘By the path winding through the trees,’ or something like that. You can’t go by trains and buses and things, It isn’t fair.”

“Well, I could say that,” said Polly, “but it wouldn’t be true.”

Polly and the wolf enjoy a long relationship, Polly getting older and wiser as the stories progress, the wolf going hungry, always. It helps if your young listeners know their folk tales before embarking on adventures with Polly!