English / New Zealand
What are you supposed to be?
Beavis, Paul
(text/illus.)
Auckland [et al.]: Scholastic, 2017. – [32] p.
ISBN 978-1-77543-405-4
Prejudice | Differentness | Self-confidence | Picture book
Reading age: 4+
White Ravens issue: 2018
A proper wolf needs to be a scary, sharp-toothed, sheep-devouring, growling monster – EVERYONE knows this. So when the bossy girl in this story meets a scraggly, violin-playing, salad-munching something, she doesn’t quite know what to make of it. She is absolutely set on helping the well-mannered fellow change into a beast that fulfills her expectations. The only problem is: Wolf isn’t interested. He feels just fine the way he is. The cartoon-like illustrations, created in pencil and Photoshop, make clever use of the entire double-page spreads and highlight the contrast between the stubborn, pink-clad know-it-all and the laid-back, hyper-polite wolf. Paul Beavis of “Mrs Mo’s Monster”-fame (Gecko Press, 2014) has fashioned an inimitable set of quirky characters starring in a highly entertaining tale. Written entirely in dialogue, the story shows that remaining true to oneself is the key, despite of what others might wish.