Adventures of The Wolf {Review and Giveaway of The Wolf Series}

Now that Angel is stepping into primary school next year, I've realised that many of the books in our home library have gotten a tad too easy for her. That becomes even more obvious on some nights when we would have our roles reversed and she would read a couple of books to me and the little sister instead.

Thus, nowadays, we are on the lookout for books that are a little more lengthy, contain vibrant illustrations and better still, have a moral to each story. Throw in some adorable animal characters and that would make a perfect book for my big girl.

We were thrilled to received The Wolf series from Wild Crane Press which I had been eyeing in the public library but initially thought it might be too difficult for Angel to comprehend. With covers as striking as these and a wolf character in black who stands out from the bright-coloured background, I certainly think they are hard to miss or resist from flipping through.

Written by author Orianne Lallemand and illustrated by Éléonore Thuillier, The Wolf series tells the exciting adventures of a grumpy wolf who lands himself in all sorts of sticky, and somewhat amusing, situations. He might seem a little grouchy and not so personable when you first read about him, but as the story unfolds, you come to realise that he is just a kind soul and a delightful character who will be a hit with the children. Don't believe it? Well, The Wolf is so successful that the series is sold in over 20 countries and translated into 15 languages. In addition, this bestselling children’s book series is currently studied in more than 650 schools.

I think a main part of its success can be attributed to the unique plot in each title and that every book features a different theme - including values like humility, self-acceptance and love. Some of the titles also teach about things like occupations, vehicles, months of the year and days of the week. Even though Angel can now recite the months and days, she sometimes get them jumbled up and since she is also learning to spell the words, these books definitely come in handy for her.

The vibrant, and sometimes hilarious, illustrations in the book also play a big part in capturing the attention of the little ones and make reading more interesting. I like how the illustrator adds details into the lively drawings and not only do they help kids to understand the story better, they also make them look forward to every next page.

On the back cover, you can also find a synopsis of the book as well as the theme that it covers. Here is an overview of the five different titles in the series.

Book 1: The Wolf who wanted to change his colour 
Wolf is in a bad mood! He’s really fed up with his boring black fur. So he is going to try out a new colour each day until he finds one he likes. Though it seemed like such a good idea at first, things seem to be getting from bad to worse! Will Wolf ever learn to accept himself as he is?
(Topic: Self-acceptance)

Book 2: The Wolf who loved himself too much 
Wolf and his friends are going to take part in the Big Bad Wolf competition. To win the competition, Wolf is going to be nasty as possible! But what will happen to him when he finds himself in trouble and without a single friend to help him out?
(Topic: Humility)

Book 3: The Wolf who searched for a girlfriend 
Everyone in the Faraway Forest is in love… Wolf is fed up with being alone! With the help of his well-meaning friends, Wolf learns to dress up, recite poetry and gather flowers. But will all these truly help him to find a girlfriend?
(Topic: Love)

Book 4: The Wolf who did not want to walk anymore 
Wolf has had quite enough of walking. He decides to try riding a bicycle, driving a car, and even flying in an aeroplane, but they are all simply too awful. Poor Wolf is going to find out that walking does have its advantages!
(Topic: Months, Vehicles)

Book 5: The Wolf who wanted to be an artist 
Wolf is passionate about the arts! But does Wolf really have talent in painting, sculpting and acting? If he only knew that he had the soul of a rock star instead, he’d soon be famous! However, Wolf is going to find out that celebrity is not for everyone…
(Topic: Occupations, Arts)

Now, to let you take a further peek into the books, I'm sharing more about two of our favourite titles!

The Wolf Who Wanted to Change His Colour

One day, Wolf decides that he does not like being black and tries to become other colours instead - for instance he tries covering himself with flower petals, taking an icy bath and rolling around in a puddle of mud.






It wasn't until he tried out being green, red, pink, blue, orange, brown and multi-coloured on the seven days of a week that he realised being black was best for him. The moral of the story is of course self-acceptance and through the messy situations that Wolf gets into, the book teaches us about how important it is to love ourselves for who we are and not try to be who we are not.

The Wolf Who Wanted to Be an Artist

On a beautiful summer morning, the Wolf daydreams about becoming an artist and goes about trying to unleash his talent. He attempts to be a painter, a poet, a sculptor, a comedian, an actor and when all fails, he decides to be a rock star and starts a rock band with his friends. Contrary to expectations, he was really talented as the lead singer and all his efforts paid off when he shot to fame after his concert.

Since Angel really loves art and painting, it wasn't a surprise that she likes this book. Although it focus more on occupations and the arts, I hope she also learns through it that it is good to have a dream and only by persevering and striving hard will you be able to make dreams come true.

Although I think this series is best suited for kids aged 6 and above, the good thing is Ariel also likes listening to the stories especially when the elder sister reads them to her. That is a win-win situation for me, right? Well, I definitely enjoy listening all about Wolf's adventures as my girl reads them out loud for me too. Hooray to more bedtime stories!

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For those of you who are interested to win a book of your choice from the series, here's a giveaway!

This giveaway is open to all readers residing in Singapore. Three different winners will be picked and they will each win ONE book of their choice from the series. To participate in the giveaway, leave a comment in this blog post with your name, email and choice of book from the series. Indicate in the Rafflecopter widget that you have comments and to increase your chances of winning, you can choose to carry out the rest of the options. Best of luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway Disclosure: We received a set of The Wolf Series from Wild Crane Press in writing this review. All opinions are our own.