The young white girl narrating this somber story lives with her mom and the big bad wolf, her stepfather. He howls at her mom and hurts them both. “When he left finger marks on my arm, I had to cover them up with long sleeves, even when it was hot out.” The blankets she gathers around her head to block out the sounds of yelling and breaking are as useless as a pile of straw; her bedroom door is a barrier of wood he ignores. Finally, she builds a fort of bricks around her heart and closes her eyes. “My eyes opened the day my mother handed me a suitcase filled with my things. 'We’re leaving,’ she said.” It’s a moment of such relief. The house they go to has a nice woman to welcome them, and a kitchen full of other mothers and other children. “But no wolves.” This affecting story about domestic violence and child abuse uses obvious metaphors—including the stepfather illustrated as a literal wolf in the muted gouache and digital illustrations. The girl’s voice quiet voice is riveting, while the story’s lasting impact is its sense of hope. (Ages 4-8)

A young girl describes what it’s like when her mom’s new friend comes to stay — a moving story about domestic violence that ends on a hopeful note.

The young girl tells us that her mom’s new friend is just like the big bad wolf. At first the wolf is sweet and kind to her mom, though the girl notices the wolf’s cold eyes from the very beginning. When her mom arrives home late one day, the wolf suddenly hurls angry words and terrible names at her. From that day on her mother doesn’t smile anymore. The girl is careful to clean her room and brush her teeth and do everything to keep the peace, but the wolf is unpredictable, throwing plates on the floor, yelling at her mother and holding the girl’s arm so tightly she is left with bruises. Whenever the yelling begins, she hides under the covers in her room.

How will she and her mom cope as the wolf becomes increasingly fierce?

Valérie Fontaine and Nathalie Dion have created a powerful, moving story about violence in the home that ends on a note of hope.

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.3
Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.9
Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.2
Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.