The Wolf is Coming! - Hardcover

Kindergarten-Grade 1?In this slight romp across a barnyard, the much-maligned wolf is once again the villain. A dandelion-nibbling rabbit family is seemingly the answer to the wolf's hunger until the father rabbit's alarm sends the bunnies running for cover. The mother hen takes them in but the wolf persists. Rabbits and chickens take off, seeking refuge first with a brood of pigs and then with a trio of cows. When the fleeing procession finally crowds into the donkey's flimsy shack, the sides burst in protest, scattering boards and animals every which way. Now, it's a terrified wolf that is on the run?last seen disappearing into the distance. Brown stages the story against sun-splashed watercolor landscapes and gives the creatures expressive faces, creating an appealing visual experience. However, the story's allusions to Chicken Little (the title and the repetitive "the wolf is coming" phrase) don't match up. After all, Chicken Little's fear was imaginary; with a prowling predator in pursuit, these animals have real reason to be scared.?Barbara Elleman, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A father rabbit thumps the alarm of the title, setting off a wild cumulative chase as the fleeing rabbit family is joined by a hen and her chicks, a sow and her piglets, and a cow and her twin calves. The animals take temporary refuge in chicken coop, pigsty, and cow shed, but none of these structures is secure; finally, everyone squeezes into the old gray donkey's shed, which bulges at the seams with various animal parts sticking out of the cracks. When the wolf arrives, pandemonium ensues. Shrieking with fright, the animals ``all let their breath out at once,'' and the shed explodes in a glorious climax, scaring the poor old wolf away. Full of action and detail, Brown's watercolors lead the eye through the growing gaggle of frightened animals, who run pell- mell from left to right across full-bleed spreads, until the final explosion seems to fly right off the page. Appropriately chaotic and fun. (Picture book. 3-7) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.