LITTLE WOLF'S SONG

It distresses Little Wolf that he can't howl. Mommy and Daddy and all his brothers and sisters have distinctive howls; it's a beautiful song when they all howl together. But all he can manage is a small squeak, earning him "Squeaky" as a name. Mommy and Daddy reassure him that, when the time is right, he'll be able to howl. Sure enough, one snowy day he wanders too far from home and, when darkness falls, he realizes he's lost. He looks up at the big yellow moon and knows that the time is right. His howl carries through the night sky, helping his parents find him and bring him home. The whole family celebrates with a chorus of howls. Teckentrup's digital collages are beautifully composed, artfully placing touches of bright color against the mostly monochromatic snowy landscape, and nicely complement her heartwarming fable, which is told with crisp economy. The vocabulary is both accessible to young readers and deftly nuanced, abetting swift character development. (Picture book. 3-6)