A droll, not-quite-fractured but surely sideways original tale of two sheep, Baabwaa and Wooliam, who go in search of adventure and encounter a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Baabwaa and Wooliam are innocents up to a point, but Wooliam is a reader and based on stories he knows exactly what the wolf really is. When he tells the wolf as much, the wolf is intrigued and wants to learn more. Wooliam shows him a book, but it turns out the wolf can’t read. And so a strange, entertaining friendship begins: Wooliam teaches the wolf to read, Baabwaa knits him a new coat, because, as she notes, his current one is a disgrace, and the wolf, being a wolf, just can’t help himself every so often and chases them around. A tongue-in-cheek premise told with straight-faced humor is paired with blithe watercolor illustrations that embrace both the silliness and warmth of the story, which includes the pleasure the wolf finds in reading. (Ages 4-8)