PreS-K—Little Wolf insists on doing things his way for once: today, he will read a book from back to front, eat dessert first while standing, and play the piano with his toes. His humorless parents disagree and send him to his room, and Little Wolf promptly runs away. Outside he finds the forest animals in full stampede, fleeing an indescribable monster, who says he's feeling "topsy turvy." Readers flip the book over to reveal that the monster is merely Little Wolf's father, inexplicably struck by the urge to "play jokes, too." The premise is clever, but the joke loses its way halfway through. Simple cartoon illustrations are not strong enough to balance the slight text and thin plot. Libraries looking for interactive texts would be better served with additional copies of Hervé Tullet's
Press Here (Chronicle, 2011).—
Suzanne Myers Harold, formerly at Multnomah County Library System, Portland, ORLittle Wolf decides to start his book from the back, so readers must literally proceed from right to left as they follow his (opposite) day (e.g., he eats dessert first). His dad shows him that two can play at this contrary game. The rakishly illustrated book is easy to follow, funny, and painlessly cerebral--the right way to do meta.
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