Illustrated by Anne Spudvilas.
Front Street. 2006.
ISBN: 9731590785003
$17.99. Hardcover. 40 pages.
Readers Annotation
Hiding in a basement from the wolves he see everywhere, Ben longs for the blue skies of the past. Is he being hunted?
Plot Summary
In a post apocalyptic world Ben hides form the woolvs (wolves) that wander the streets. Ben, a young teen, demands the attention of the reader. The streets he describes are empty except for occasional bicycle. Traffic long gone from the roads. He once had friends and a family and now they are all gone. Each spread is detailed with Ben’s nearly illiterate script. He writes that the woolvs are “hatefuls,” and they “spare no won.” His neighbor Mrs. Radinski gives the young man spare water and food as he hides, and she even leaves the safety of the building to retrieve Ben when he is fooled by blue paint on a wall outside his windows into thinking the sky is blue again. Yet she doesn’t believe him when he tells her about the wolves. Instead she tells him that he should go back to school and take up a hobby. When Mrs. Radinski disappears from the building, Ben takes clothing, food and water and sets out to take back the city from the woolvs. On the final page he entreats us to join him.
Critical Evaluation
Spudvilas illustrations for this work are created using watercolor, charcoal and pencil. The color choices are dynamic and produce a feeling of dread through the dark imagery and shadow figures. Spudvilas expertly generates visual imagery usually seen in animated films. For example, for one spread she use greens, reds and veins of black, with small handprints on one page and the text in white on the next. The handprints overlaying the red watercolor almost look like heat images, not prints. While the red paint looks a little like dried blood. In another image the once bright sun suggested by the protagonist Ben, is now darken and filled with soot or ash. The sun barely peeks through the cloud cover. On the walls of Ben’s hideout are primitive drawings of wolves and Ben’s words that “no won is spared.” The book generates a sense of terror of the unknown as we read Ben’s words as effectively as any Stephen King novel. Do the wolves really exist, or is Ben delusional? These are questions never answered in the text. Instead it is left to the reader to determine if the protagonist is truthful. This is a very effective (albeit slim) horror story that reluctant older readers (15-18) should enjoy.
Information about the author
Margaret Wild (1948-) is a prolific children’s author from Australia. Most of her books are for children ages 4-8. Although she does not appear to have a personal web address you can find some information about her here.
Information about the artist
Spudvilas website is a virtual gallery of her work. You can find it at this address: http://www.annespudvilas.com/default.asp
Genre
Fiction, horror
Curriculum ties
None
Challenge Issues
None
Challenge defense ideas
There are no apparent challenge issues associated with this book. In the case that a challenge comes up, there are some things that you can do to start. You could read the book and become familiar with the content. Refer to the library collection development policy, and get reviews from reputable sources and teens that have read the book. You can find out more about this book on Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/Woolvs-Sitee-Margaret-Wild/dp/1590785002/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260134468&sr=8-1
Booktalking Ideas
1. Discuss the setting for the story
2. Talk about Ben and his lack of education and his compelling story.
Reading Level/Age
Young adult, ages 12 and up
Why I included this title
I found this book to be compelling so I wanted to include it for reluctant YA readers.
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