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Reviewed by: Emily McFarlane, Elementary School Librarian Title: The Wolf Suit Author: Sid Sharp Publisher: Annick Press
Year: 2022 Good for Grades: 4-6 Genre/Type of Book: Animal Fiction/Graphic Novel
Content Warnings, or things that other School Librarians should be aware of: Features anxiety, the sheep has a distinct butt Recommended for a school library: Yes Reason(s) for choosing the book: Noticed it in our fiction section from JLG, reminded me of The Skull If you were tasked by the publisher with writing a short quote for the back cover of this book, what would it be: Is it worth it, pretending to be someone you're not? |
Review:
Bellwether Rigwelter is a sheep who is happy in his own company. He likes to dance, smell flowers, and pick blackberries. Unfortunately, one day, he realizes he is out of blackberries and the woods are full of scary wolves who eat other creatures for supper. At first, Bellwether is determined to go out and pick blackberries anyway, until he runs into a real wolf and runs home scared. That's when an idea comes to him- he will make a wolf suit and be able to be safe in the woods! But when the rest of the wolves meet him and ask him to come to their moon dancing and howling party, how will he keep up the charade?
This was an interesting graphic novel. We had it mistakenly shelved with fiction, and it caught my eye as the illustrations were reminiscent of Klassen and Barnett's work. I love "The Skull" by Jon Klassen, and thought this might have a similar feeling. It definitely has that style, but without the same humor. The illustrations are simple, clean, and somewhat fantastical, with a watercolor/patchy painting style that adds a very whimsical feeling to the book. The panels are large and simple, which makes for an easy and quick read. Overall, it is a story about hiding who you are in order to protect yourself, and finding the unexpected benefits of revealing your true self to others. As it turns out, NONE of the wolves are wolves at all, but other forest creatures who had the same issues as Bellwether. Together, they overcome anxiety and become friends, allowing for each of them to gain more confidence. At the end, there is a lovely bit of symbolism where Bellwether opens the curtains and lets the sunlight in for the first time, when they've been closed throughout the entire book. The scene where Bellwether's disguise unravels is also very well done, as the thread moves from panel to panel across the page, connecting the entire spread together as opposed to being entirely separate images. It is little details like that I noticed while reading that made the illustrations that much better.
For anyone who feels like they need to mask or hide who they are, this book would be good to help with discussions around those feelings. It would also be useful when talking about anxiety, as the things we do to reduce anxiety could be examined here. How does Bellwether deal with his fears? Does he face them? How? The cover has a frame of woodland motifs surrounding an empty area, where the title and the lead character are highlighted. It is a striking cover, if a bit unsettling. I think fans of weird books, Klassen/Barnett, and things in that vein will be likely to pick it up, but it might be one of those niche items that only finds a small audience. I think this will be one of those books that you think about for a while. I might need a re-read or two to really let this one sink in.
Number of party hats:
Find more about The Wolf Suit on Teachingbooks.net
For more information about this book, see the Publishers Website