Wolves
Ever lost yourself in a good book? Gravett’s white rabbit has–he borrows a book about wolves from the West Bucks Public Burrowing Library and goes merrily (temporarily) along his way engrossed in its pages. Unlike Lewis Carroll’s white rabbit, Gravett’s white rabbit strolls home appearing to have all the time in the world and not a care in the world. It soon becomes apparent, though, that this carefree rabbit should have taken care to pay more attention to the words that he was reading.
As the rabbit reads about what wolves are like (their habitat, their physical characteristics, etc.), the rabbit becomes increasingly absorbed as the wolf becomes more menacing. It is not until the rabbit gets to the part of the book that discusses what wolves eat (“they also enjoy smaller mammals, like beavers, voles, and … rabbits”) that the rabbit pulls its nose out of the book and takes on the startled deer-in-the-headlights expression. Behind the startled, newly cognizant rabbit, the wolf’s face covers nearly the full two-page spread.
The rabbit’s impending demise is quite evident without either of the story’s characters ever saying a word. Presumably the text that is on the pages of Wolves is lifted from the rabbit’s book that he is so engrossed in reading. The factual text combines with the fictional illustrations to create a winning whole in this cautionary “beware of the wolves” picture book.
Gravett employs plenty of whitespace against which to set her illustrations’ focus–the rabbit, the wolf, and the maroon book the rabbit is reading. Gravett’s use of white space and changing the size and arrangement of her rabbit, wolf, and book strengthens her story (Her masterful use of white space is reminiscent of Maurice Sendak’s tactics in Where the Wild Things Are in how he moves from a large amount of white space surrounding the text, to gradually enlarging to illustrations that overwhelm the entire spread as Max and the wild things have their wild rumpus, to having the white space return as Max returns to reality). The rabbit begins to fade in size and significance on the page as the wolf moves closer, gets bigger, and moves to center page. On the final two-page spread, it is the maroon book–with all its wear and tear (i.e., wolf scratches and marks)–that commands attention.
Emily Gravett won the Kate Greenaway Medal for Wolves. Wolves presents the facts in such a fascinating way that it’s difficult to be upset about the demise of the rabbit. However, for those who are upset, Gravett does offer an alternative ending so that just facts get consumed and the wolf and the rabbit share a jam sandwich.
Of course, it is true that after this reassuring page there is another page of the rabbit’s unopened mail suggesting that the rabbit has been absent for some time. Among the mail is a postcard from the library stating that the book is overdue; the library requests that rabbit return the book as soon as possible, as many other rabbits are waiting to burrow it. Still, sensitive readers will hold tight to the jam sandwich ending (or you might want to point sensitive readers to other fare altogether), and readers with a darker sense of humor will appreciate all of these extra comedic touches.
Emily Gravett (listed on the title page as Emily Grrrabbit) clearly deserves the rave reviews garnered on the back cover of the book come from The Daily Carrot (”Every burrow should own this!”), The Hareold (”A rip-roaring tail.”), and the Rabbit Review (”A wonderful introduction for young rabbits to the danger of wolves. Buy this!”). And for those concerned with meeting state and national curriculum standards, this book is a must buy since it does, after all, follow the National Carroticulum.
For another story of a completely unsuspecting prey facing an encounter with a menacing predator, pick up Pat Hutchins classic Rosie’s Walk (starring an unsuspecting hen and a fox predator). Part of the fun for kids in such stories is that they have knowledge that the protagonist does not. For more postmodern wolfish delights, pick up The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by John Scieszka, The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas and Helen Oxenbury, or The Wolf’s Story: What Really Happened to Little Red Riding Hood by Toby Forward.
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