This graphic novel style picture book/story collection is so funny, and I love how each of the four stories are connected. You can't help but root for the sneaky wolf - can you blame him? He's just hungry! ( )

Author and illustrator team Zoë B. and R.W. Alley—also husband and wife—follow their eponymous wolf through five traditional tales in this engaging comic-book-style picture-book. Our long-suffering lupine hero, always hungry for a good meal, at first attempts to capture the famous Three Little Pigs, before moving on to the sheep being guarded by The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Balked at every turn, he next falls in with the somewhat overly fashion-conscious Little Red Riding Hood, where he likewise has no luck. His adventures as The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing bring him no advantage, so he makes his final effort at a meal in The Wolf and the Seven Goslings...

The first of two oversized fairy-tale picture-books in this style created by the Alleys—the second being There's a Princess in the Palace—There's a Wolf at the Door is an engaging, humorous reading adventure, particularly for those already familiar with the traditional tales in question. I liked the little additions to the stories—the Three Little Pigs having names, Little Red Riding Hood being a little shallow at first—and the way all five tales are tied together in one narrative. The artwork is fun, and captures the humor of the story quite well. I particularly liked the conclusion, in which the exasperated wolf thinks he might turn vegetarian, after all his troubles, as the sign next to him points the way to "Farmer MacGregor's Garden!" I'm not sure this would work with a larger story-time group, as the comic-book format, with all of its speech bubbles, will make the narrative quite long, but as a title for one-on-one reading, or independent reading on children's part, I think it will work very well. Recommended to young fairy-tale fans who enjoy humorous send-ups of their favorite stories. ( )

The retellings of the stories are good however I dislike the comic book format. I find so many dialogue balloons are cumbersome in a READ ALOUD book. ( )

I really enjoyed this book for three reasons. First, I like that the important words related to each story (the book contains five classic tales retold by the author) are highlighted or bolded in a way that is different from the regular words. For example, in “Little Red Riding Hood,” whenever red was mentioned, the word was a little bigger than the rest and written in a red font. Also, other words that add a lot of description to the story are highlighted. For example, the word‘ frizz’ was written in a unique and yellow font. I think this adds dimension to the book, and keeps the reader engaged. Another reason I enjoyed this book is because the book is written in a comic book format, and the illustrations profoundly display what is going on in each comic section. For example, in “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” there is one section that says, “They gathered their wits, their sticks, and their stones and ran up the hill…” The illustration is of townspeople running with their random items, and the expressions on their faces show us that they are scared (their mouths are open as if they are screaming). I like this because I tend to find comic books hard to read since sometimes the pictures do not fit the written text. Finally, I like this book because the language is very descriptive. For example, in “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” there is one line that says, “And a very large rock hurtled toward a very started wolf.” That descriptive language allows me to picture this scene in my head, which I think a good story, should always do. Because this book is about the wolf in many different folktales, I think the main message of all of them is to be careful of strangers and to tell the truth. ( )

I admit it, I usually want the underdog (or 'wolf' in this case) to win! I suppose having a wolf "win" wouldn't exactly make an appropriate children's book, but it would be nice if he was able to eat something!

In any case, There's a Wolf at the Door is a fun read consisting of cleverly put together familiar fairy tales all linked by the wolf. The story is presented in an oversized, graphic novel format including lively pen and ink drawings by R. W. Alley that expound upon the already humorously written text.

The only draw back I see is the extra large format which may cause potential readers to shy away from is thinking that it's a book for "little kids". If you're with your child at the library though and come across the title, encourage him to take a peek inside! ( )