Wolves by Emily Gravett

Emily Gravett is wonderful! I love the way she uses book conventions to make her stories truly irreverent.

In this book, for example, We follow Rabbit, who goes to the library and borrows a book about wolves. Oh what's this? The reader in now holding a book called wolves which contains a rabbit holding a book about wolves... we read together...

Gray wolves live in packs of between two and ten animals. 

We find out more and more about them, as the rabbit walks home, too engrosed in the book to notice that a wolf has come out of the pages. He even walks right up the tail and along its back.

Then we learn, at the same time as the rabbit, that it eats lots of kinds of animals, both large and small... like beavers, voles and ...

We turn the page to see a viciously ripped and clawed back over and the torn remnants of a page saying "rabbits."

We turn the page again to read:

The author would like to point out that no rabbits were eaten during the making of this book.

It is a work of fiction.
And so, for more sensitive readers, here is an alternative ending. 

I'll leave it to you to read the alternative ending for yourself, but it's much happier and unrealistic. but it clearly illustrated by torn scraps from earlier in the book. 

She's just too good! I wrote a review a little while ago on one of her other books and I just love everything she does.

 

4.5 Gold Stars

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Little Mouse’s Big Book Of Fears by Emily Gravett

I love phobias. I know that’s a strange thing to say, but I’ve always had a fascination with them and their names and what that would mean for people. I’ve got a t-shirt with a list of them on it, and I have an alphabet picture book about phobias in the works (by which I mean it’s an idea that’s been sitting there waiting to be written for years) and even a idea for a novel based around them when I find the time.

So, in my love of picture books, and phobias, and traditional stories and rhymes and their adaptations, I stumbled upon Emily Gravett’s Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears.

Genius!

At some point, this book was a blank book with different phobias at the top of each page, a brief explanation of what the fear is of and then the small line of “Use the space below to record your fears.”  That was, until Little Mouse came along.

The book, as we see it now, is after Little Mouse has scrapbooked and tried to chronicle his fears. It brilliantly ties together all the things a mouse might be afraid of with his brief annotations along the way. It’s when we hit the page about Aichmophobia (Fear of Knives) that we begin to see glimpses of nursery rhymes being tied in. This page is a decoupage of memorabilia of ‘The Amazing Flying Mousecrobats Circus’ of three blind mice that had to be cancelled after Mrs Sabatier (a newspaper clipping tells us is the far) had had enough and took to them with a carving knife.

Later, the combination of Ligrophobia (loud noises) and Chronomentrophobia (clocks) are perfectly paired to tie in with Hickory Dickory Dock. But my personal favourite is Whereamiophobia (getting lost… apparently) and the map that has been stuck in… a ‘Visitors’ Map to the Isle of Fright’ – with “detailed plans of things; places of interest; major and minor stuff; measurements and map type bits.” I’d go into detail about the mouse shaped island and all its attractions, but then you’d not get the surprise and delight that I got. (My laughter summoning my partner from the other end of our house, curious to know what I was finding so funny.)

Emily Gravett has developed a style that is her own and is pure joy centred havoc. She understands book design and what fun can be had with it on a whole other level. This one just happens to tickle my fancy on every level. 

5 Gold Stars

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"Use the space below to record your fears."