Good Little Wolf by Kristina Andres Ages 4-8 32 pages NorthSouth September 2008 Hardcover     In Kristina Andres’s slim little volume Good Little Wolf, a wolf cub insists that he really is a good little wolf who takes good care of his friends, a posse of stuffed toys that accompany him everywhere. Wolf keeps his friends warm in the winter by snuggling with them under the covers and gives them shelter from the rain by hiding them in his mouth. He is even a clean little wolf who likes to take his bath. Sometimes he threatens to do very bad things, but no one really believes him because he is a good little wolf. This is a spare book both in terms of the text and the artwork that features a lot of blank white space around each illustration. There is a certain level of ambiguity that is sustained throughout the story (is the wolf really good? For instance, in one image, terrified animals are juxtaposed next to the wolf’s gigantic and very sharp teeth) that makes one read the book closely in an attempt to unravel the author’s real meaning. But this question of the ambiguous representation of the wolf might well interest adults more than children. Although there isn’t much to criticize in this book, it didn’t particularly appeal to me strongly either. However, I can see children finding the notion of a good but misunderstood central character to be appealing.     web reviews   Usha Reynolds/2010 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)