There Are No Scary Wolves.
Yum, Hyewon (Author) , Yum, Hyewon (Illustrator)
Oct 2010. 40 p. Farrar, hardcover, $16.99. (9780374380601).
Sick of waiting and waiting for Mom to find her keys, a little boy imagines venturing out alone in his city
neighborhood, in which he envisions that everyone is a wolf. He is afraid of the gigantic scary wolf at the
Chinese restaurant, as well as the heavily bearded wolf with sharp nails in the toy store: “Scary wolves are
everywhere.” When Mom is finally ready, he walks out with her, feeling safe at last. Later, though, his
imagination kicks in again. Looking out the window, the boy sees wolves delivering mail, riding bikes,
and walking in high heels. Always true to a young child's viewpoint, the unframed collages show
nightmarish distortions just on the edge of realism, and the frightening scenes are not only outside;
sometimes Mom can look scary, as when she carries laundry piled so high it covers her face. Even the boy
himself can look monstrous! Balancing elemental terrors with reassuring scenes of safety, this inventive
title has fun with everyday fears in ordinary places.
— Hazel Rochman
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Review from PW
There Are No Scary Wolves
Hyewon Yum, FSG/Foster, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-374-38060-1
Yum's debut, Last Night, showed special insight into the perceptions of small children, and she demonstrates the same gifts here, using line, soft color, and collaged photographic images to portray a boy who longs to go outside ("This is the best day, and I feel absolutely big"), but who is suddenly overcome with anxiety, imagining, "Scary wolves are everywhere!" including the toy store and his favorite Chinese restaurant. "I'm too little to go out," he tells his mother, but with her encouragement, they venture out for their planned trip, and he finds that things are safer than he thought ("Next we go to the toy store. The scary wolf isn't there, either!"). Yum pictures the wolves as stylishly clothed, perfectly civilized figures, pushing baby carriages and carrying shopping bags; only their heads appear frightening. It's not chaos out there, she seems to say. Many small details lie in the pictures, repaying careful inspection, yet the overall feeling is one of space and simplicity, the right setting in which to examine the seesawing emotions of small children and their peaceful resolution. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)
Hyewon Yum, FSG/Foster, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-374-38060-1
Yum's debut, Last Night, showed special insight into the perceptions of small children, and she demonstrates the same gifts here, using line, soft color, and collaged photographic images to portray a boy who longs to go outside ("This is the best day, and I feel absolutely big"), but who is suddenly overcome with anxiety, imagining, "Scary wolves are everywhere!" including the toy store and his favorite Chinese restaurant. "I'm too little to go out," he tells his mother, but with her encouragement, they venture out for their planned trip, and he finds that things are safer than he thought ("Next we go to the toy store. The scary wolf isn't there, either!"). Yum pictures the wolves as stylishly clothed, perfectly civilized figures, pushing baby carriages and carrying shopping bags; only their heads appear frightening. It's not chaos out there, she seems to say. Many small details lie in the pictures, repaying careful inspection, yet the overall feeling is one of space and simplicity, the right setting in which to examine the seesawing emotions of small children and their peaceful resolution. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)
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