THE WOLF IN UNDERPANTS BREAKS FREE

Wolf falls afoul of a pair of overzealous vigilantes, who arrest him on the theory that because he’s not working, he must be a criminal.

The latest entry in a hybrid picture book/graphic novel series given to sharp social commentary takes particular aim at the notion that anyone who doesn’t work must be either lazy or a thief. Because he refuses to explain where he got the coins to pay for his daily noodles, Wolf is hustled off to jail by two badgers in military dress—but when they try to uncover evidence of his supposed crimes, all they learn is that he does lots of good deeds, like helping out at the clinic and chaperoning schoolchildren without asking for reward (“Money? Please, we don’t have any money. We’re teachers!” “Oh. Right”). Meanwhile, a self-righteous local tycoon’s claim that “work builds character!” gets a skewering as someone points out that they inherited their factory, and after responding to a guard’s notion that everyone has to work to earn a living with “I don’t need to EARN a life. I’ve already got one!” Wolf borrows a shovel to dig his way out. He’s immediately surrounded by a crowd of admirers. The money, it turns out, is simply a redistribution of wealth as grateful mice return a favor by stealing money from the tycoon and tucking it into the gaily striped underwear Wolf sports in the cartoon illustrations while he’s sleeping. As the badgers slink off to “waste time…I mean…patrol…,” a varied cast of woodland creatures offers background chatter and additional commentary. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A clear message that there’s more to life than making a living.