The Wolf's Chicken Stew (Goodnight)

A very cute and enjoyable book with a nice twist in the story. Both my 5yo son and I loved it! The story is quite original and the illustrations are great! The illustrations perfectly capture the emotions of the wolf and just made us laugh and laugh.

I read this book to my son's kindergarten class and they all loved it. They were very excited while I read the story! All of Keiko Kasza'a books are great!!!

I found this story to be very clever and funny. My 3 1/2 yr son thoroughly enjoyed the main character, the wolf, who at first is the typical wolf but shows his loving and caring character at the end. My son enjoyed this story not only for its humor but also because the wolf is so likable. Keiko Kasza's other similar book, Lucky Day, is also funny but my son did not find it as enjoyable simply it didn't have that same likable main character.

The students love this book, we usually read it on 100's day, and hide chicks around the room. The students enjoy how the author always makes the prey in her books smarter than the hunters.

With all the wonderful picture books out there for children, it seems silly to say that children need only one book on such n' such a topic. Unfortunately, that's sometimes how my little mind works. Take, for example, this book. Now I had been familiar with the amazingly funny and well-written, "My Lucky Day" by Keiko Kasza. What I didn't know was that almost ten years before its publication, Kasza preceded her modern-day classic with something called, "The Wolf's Chicken Stew". Intrigued by other works by this author/illustrator, I decided to seek out this earlier work. After all, "The Wolf's Chicken Stew" appears on the New York Public Library's list of 100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know. Unfortunately, my reaction was akin to those fans who listen to an artist's mature works and then go back to that same artist's earlier (and weaker) material. Using almost exactly the same formula that would later appear in "My Lucky Day", Kasza tries to send up the classic predator/prey fight for supremacy with a twist at the end. But instead of knowing laughs, we're left with a sweet but weak finish.

Says the book, "There once lived a wolf who loved to eat more than anything else in the world". Some of us can sympathize. When he spots a lone chicken ah-walkin' in the woods one day, the wolf sets his heart on a delicious chicken stew. Just the same, he can't deny that the chicken is a scrawny critter. One that undoubtedly needs some fattening up. So off the wolf goes to bake some tasty treats to fill the chicken's belly. He whips up 100 pancakes, 100 doughnuts, and "a scrumptious cake weighing a hundred pounds". Each gift is left on the chicken's doorstep and when he believes the time is right, the wolf peers into bird's home only to be welcome by a still thin chicken. The reason for this is clear enough. It appears that Ms. Chicken has quite a brood of young. The baby chicks thank the wolf profusely and instead of popping them in his mouth, the soft-hearted fellow finds himself charmed and thinking about possibly baking them a hundred scrumptious cookies in the future. The last shot in the book is of a basket filled with cookies and various fluffy chicks vying for a treat.

The ending is unexpected and kids will love the abrupt turnaround the wolf goes through. He starts out snarky and ends up a softy. Kids love it when supposedly "bad" characters go through this kind of redemption. I was impressed especially with Kasza's grasp of subtle words and phrases that dot this book. You don't find the term "scrumptious" in every book (though you probably should) and certainly not in the ones that come from authors that are just as comfortable writing in Japanese as they are English. The illustrations compliment the text beautifully. The wolf is both menacing and oddly fuzzy. Even when he is mere steps away from the oblivious fowl in his pounce position, you never really fear that he's gonna go through with it. Kasza shades and details her pictures with delightful watercolors. You can detect shadows in the wolf's thick fur and every last doughnut is nicely rounded.

Of course, I much prefer "My Lucky Day". THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is an example of picture book brilliance. Just the same, there's a lot to be said for "The Wolf's Chicken Stew". It's fun and funny to the kiddies and has all the makings of a fine family classic. Definitely a pick that would be better for younger picture book readers than older ones. A good readaloud to groups of little ones as well.