Tag Suzi Moore

Wolfish Stew

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Wolfish Stew
Suzi Moore and Erica Salcedo
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
We all agree, wolves in stories are generally the baddies that get their just desserts, don’t we? Now you might just find yourself showing a little bit of sympathy for the particular wolf character in this treat of a tale, which certainly has a spicy final twist to it. Let’s get back to the start though with this:
‘There once was a rabbit/whose name was Grey. And he went to the woods/to pick berries one day.’
Now of course, where there are woods – and certainly in stories – there are also frequently, something else beginning with w and so too, is it in this instance. In fact here is one in particular, going by the name of Blue, a cunning, mean, sneaky creature with an enormous tail and a overwhelming desire for a special ingredient for his wolfish stew. No prizes for guessing what that might be …

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Hence all these warnings uttered to Grey as he makes his way on his foraging expedition through those woods …

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woods wherein lurks a pair of hairy, slightly nobbly knees, a massive appendage attached to a hairy posterior, wellie –shod feet and a very protruding snout. Hmm. Did I just see a knife and fork being brandished there too?

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It’s as well then that our little Grey pal is a wily creature with more than his fair share of tricks tucked in his fur – not to mention useful devices stashed in his burrow.

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Oh! What was that I just heard? Surely not Blue singing Grey’s song, was it? Yes it was.
Could it possibly be that, there’s a character even more ruthless than he residing in this particular story, one that’s been planning for an extra special ingredient to make his suppertime repast even more of a delicious concoction than usual? Now that would be telling, wouldn’t it.
What can be said however, is that this is destined to be wolfed down with delighted squeals of “More please!” and “Again, again!’ and that the rather dark wolfalicious outcome may not meet with everyone’s approval: it’s all a matter of taste.
Erica Salcedo’s utterly scrummy illustrations are brimming over with tasty tidbits and moreish humour, providing the perfect accompaniment to Suzi Moore’s.truly toothsome text.

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Whoops!

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Whoops!
Suzi Moore and Russell Ayto
Brubaker, Ford and Friends (Templar) pbk
A cat that cannot MEOW, a dog that doesn’t WOOF and a squeakless mouse; add a wise owl – well let’s reserve judgement on that one – and an old lady in a tumbledown house (an old lady with a spell book I should point out) and you pretty much have the ingredients of this tale. Bringing these ingredients together proves to be more than a little tricky especially in that tumbledown house.
Of course the little old lady is eager to help her voiceless visitors sent by the owl. Out comes the spell book – a very large volume – and with a flick of her fingers all is well. Eerm, not quite. Remember this is a tumbledown house and in a flash the wind is blowing in, the rain beating down and the house turning around and around. What of the animals though –have they found their voices? Well, yes and no for, ‘the cat went, CLUCK! And the dog went, QUACK! And the mouse from a shoe went, COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO! And the little old lady went, WHOOPS! (Echoes of Charles Causley’s Quack Said the Billy Goat here.) But no matter for the spell book has plenty more pages so what about the spell on page three?

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BAA! NEIGH! MOO! MOO! MOO! WHOOPS! Page seven then? Oh, not that one either but we do have a WOOF, a SQUEAK! and a MEOW!  so it’s definitely worth giving page ten a try.

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But what is this? – brown sky and a spinning house and within … ?
Do I hear right? … And the cat went MEOW! And the dog went, WOOF! The mouse who couldn’t speak went, SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK!
And the little old lady? Well, I’d hate to spoil the story so you’ll just have to get hold of a copy for yourself. You can make up your own mind about that old owl too – he does have the last word though.
“Again, again” is the cry every time I share this hilarious, laugh out loud story with individuals or groups of children. Needless to say I’m more than happy to oblige. Suzi Moore’s rhyming text is a joy to read, especially if you like doing ‘voices’ and adding dramatic effects and Russell Ayto’s muted, minimalist style illustrations are a real hoot.

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He leaves plenty of space on many a page to create superb dramatic effect and the more tumultuous spreads are equally brilliant and contain superb comic detail.
The whole thing is a wonderful springboard to classroom drama too.

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