Woolvs In the Sitee is written in the invented spelling style of Ben, a preteen boy living alone in an unknown city in strange circumstances. Dark, jagged illustrations visually reinforce Ben’s plea that something sinister has taken over: “These woolvs are hatefuls. And hating. They are in the sitee. They are evereewhere. They spare no won.” These wolves are not “luvlee wyld creechis, running in the woods” but representative of an unknown evil. Mrs. Radinski is the only ally Ben has, but her interpretation of the outside forces is different. The borders of reality are murky in this haunting story, but as a mature and metaphoric picture book it invites discussion about dissolution of safety and sanity. (Age 11 and older)

Black-on-black endpapers establish the mood: childish, unsophisticated sketches of oversized wolves appear only if the light is perfect. The slapdash font and invented spelling challenge readers and hinder their progress. A secondary effect is to slow the page turns so that eyes linger longer on each page—linger to question the perspective from the anonymous narrator’s basement window or roof of a building. The text describes a world without water or heat, food, or safety. The expressionistic—verging on surrealistic— illustrations evoke alarm and foreboding. Woolvs in the Sitee is a picture book to introduce dystopia to older students. Children’s Book Council of Australia shortlisted book. lmp

Originally published by Penguin Group Australia, in 2006.