Unfortunately, due to unforeseen technical issues I can’t review this book. I thought I downloaded it on kindle through NetGalley but there was an issue sending the Ark over so when I went to read it today there was an issue because the book wasn’t in my kindle so as it’s past the download period to be able to re-download it, I unfortunately cannot review this book.

4★
“Minstrel’s imagination had no limits. He saw things other wolves did not see. Giant trolls disguised as trees. Elephants hiding in the tall grass. Mermaids instead of silvery fish. Minstrel was a storyteller. He liked to make things up. The elder wolves had another name for Minstrel. They called him Liar.”

That’s a bit harsh! He’s an imaginative little wolf, not unlike his human counterpart, Mani, who loves wandering beyond the village to the forest and the riverbank.

“His mother often warned him not to. ‘The river is full of crocodiles,’ she’d warn.

‘I’m not afraid of crocodiles,’ he’d reply. ‘They are my friends. We sit and drink tea together.’

‘“Yes, of course you do,’ his mother would answer.”

This is a reversal of the well-known fairy tale, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, where a young lad who wanted attention used to run through his village shouting WOLF! WOLF! so often that people soon ignored him. When he did finally see a wolf, nobody believed him.

This is a book written for a particular reading level (6, on this scale), which has pictures on most pages but about 130 words on some. The story is a mix of folk tale and facts, with photographs and information about wolves and the topic inserted here and there.

One day, Minstrel, the young wolf, runs home to describe a MONSTER he has seen in the forest.

My Goodreads review has an illustration with the caption:
“When he finally reached his pack, he was almost breathless. ‘I saw humans!’ he cried. ‘Humans riding monsters! They’re coming for us!’”

Meanwhile, Mani is horrified to hear his father explain that the village farmers need more land. This means they will have to cut down trees to build a bridge across the river and farm the other side.

Mani loves the forest, so goes there to sit and hide amongst the greenery. He sees the crocodiles in the river and wonders if they’re sad, too. Then he spots movement over on the other side. An otter or a mongoose?

My Goodreads review has an illustration with the caption:
“Suddenly, it turned and ran.
‘WOLF!’ cried Mani, turning towards the huge trucks. As the drivers got out, Mani continued to shout. ‘WOLF!’ he yelled. ‘There’s a wolf across the river!’
The men laughed at him. ‘There are no wolves here,’ said one. ‘You are mistaken, boy.’

At this point, the author includes a photograph and information about Indian wolves (which, incidentally, remind me a lot of coyotes.)

My Goodreads review has an illustration with the caption:
“Meet a real Indian wolf!”

I know young readers who insist they want to read “chapter books”, not picture story books, so this format helps ease them into longer works. The following screen shot shows four pages in a row to show what it looks like with minimal illustration.

My Goodreads review has an illustration with the caption:
Note the pawprints at the top of page 44 and barefoot boy footprints at the top of page 46, which help readers know whose part of the story this is.

The company’s website shows how their reading program works in schools. Now I’m going back to the story. Mani and his friend Jeeva, convince her mother the wolf is real, and she regrets that wolves aren’t protected – but tigers are.

Meanwhile, Minstrel’s late grandmother returns as a stunning white ghost wolf.

My Goodreads review has an illustration with the caption:
“I am a spirit. I live in the other realm now.”

She explains that she’s there to help the pack, and tells him about the children wanting to help.

Mani and Jeeva row across the river, braving the crocodiles, and meet Minstrel and his ghostly grandmother on the other side.

My Goodreads review has an illustration with the caption:
“’DO NOT RUN!’
Mani and Jeeva looked at each other. They had both heard the white wolf’s voice, but neither could believe it. It was impossible.”

The children tell the wolves that they need to find at least two protected tigers living in the forest in order to save it. Minstrel says he saw a tiger once, and his grandmother says it must be Arul, who is old and scarred. He meets the children and promises not to eat them, but he says he’s the only tiger left.

What to do? Clever young minstrel gets the wolves to practice roaring like a tiger, so when Mani and Jeeva take Jeeva’s mother and some village elders to the river to look for tigers, they will find them.

My Goodreads review has an illustration with the caption:
“’There!’ Mani shouted. ‘There he is!’
The elderly tiger stepped into view, and the human adults gasped. Arul stared towards Mani and Jeeva. Then he roared.

Suddenly, there was another roar, and then another, and then another. Soon, the forest echoed with the sound.
‘Amazing!’ said Jeeva’s mother. ‘Tigers!’”

When the wolves step out of the shadows to stand with the old tiger, Jeeva’s mother exclaims “‘They’re standing together, to protect their home. Wow!’”

The following pages describe and illustrate the habitat loss and endangered animals in many countries of the world. There is information about the author and about the illustrator, as well as questions and a project suggestion to research endangered animals.

I like this combination of folk tale and culture-sharing along with championing the environment (although we don’t know what happens to the land-poor farmers). I think kids will enjoy the wolves’ tricky solution to the problem, too.

Thanks to #NetGalley and Collins Education for the preview copy of #TheWolfWhoCriedBoy from which I’ve shared some pictures.

A new take on the traditional tale of The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Set in India, this tale shares the view of the boy and the wolf - both of whom love to tell stories. When the farmers build a bridge across the river and threaten the wolves’ home it is up to Mani and Minstrel to save the wolves’ habitat. But can they convince their communities of the other’s proximity when they’re always making up stories?
This is a lovely take on a familiar tale, bringing in the author’s love for conservation. This book could spark great conversations about protecting the habitats of other animals, especially with the bonus content at the end of the story.
As part of the Little Wandle Fluency package, this is a great book for developing young readers’ confidence and reading stamina as they develop the skills to read with accuracy, expression and understanding.

The Wolf Who Cried Boy is an illustrated story for young readers by British author, Bali Rai. As the title might indicate, itis based on the Aesop’s fable, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, but Rai sets his story in the jungles of India, and gives the story an extra twist and an environmental message. The lush, colourful illustrations are by Komal Pahwa.

In that part of the jungle on the other side of the river, to where his pack had fled when the humans came, young grey wolf Mistral wanders, taking in the sights and sounds, and letting his imagination run wild. He earnestly tells his stories, but the older wolves disapprove, calling him Liar. “Some day you’ll face real danger,” his father once said. “But no one will believe you. And that will be the end of you.”

So the day he wanders down to the forbidden river bank and spies humans riding noisy monsters, he knows his pack is in danger, but of course, no one believes him.

Mani loves the forest, loves the riverbank and all the animals he sees there. They inspire his imagination, and he loves telling stories. But he is warned “One day, you’ll really get into trouble and no one will believe you.”

When the heavy machinery comes along to build a bridge over the river and clear the forest for more land for crops, he wonders where the animals will live. Then he spots a young silver-grey wolf, and he tells the villagers, but no one believes him: all the wolves left a long time ago.

This is a delightful story with some pleasing parallels besides those already noted. There are two friends prepared to give the storytellers the benefit of the doubt; there’s the ghost of a grandmother, a very old tiger, and a scientist. Between them, they concoct a very clever way to save the animal habitat.

Rai also includes age-appropriate information about Indian wolves, about Bengal Tigers, about endangered animals, about habitat loss, about fables and the particular fable that inspired this tale. The author and the illustrator are introduced, and there’s a Book Chat section to get the readers thinking more widely about these issues. Topical, informative, well-presented.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Collins.

A new take on a traditional tale which works well. I really liked the format with the non-fiction elements too. It's a great idea to include the information alongside the story so children don't have to go searching. The illustrations are beautiful and add a lot to the story. I think many Y2- Y4 children would enjoy this book a lot.

Minstrel is a young wolf who has never been around humans, and Mani is a village boy who has never seen a wolf before. But the two have one very important thing in common: they like to tell tall tales.

And as a result, they have a credibility problem within their respective communities!

So when Minstrel realises that humans are coming with gigantic machines to build a bridge by the forest where his pack has been living since they were displaced by the humans who set up Mani's village, none of the other wolves he tries to tell believe him.

And when Mani comes back to his village having seen Minstrel on the other side of the river, the other villagers laugh at his story, because wolves have not been spotted in the area for decades.

So how can their mutual concern for the conservation of the forest be harnessed to protect this valuable habitat? Or is it already too late?

This is an interesting and ingenious story which promotes values of conservation, cooperation, and appreciation for nature.

The illustrations are nicely done, and informative facts are slipped into the story for young readers (though sometimes it interrupts the flow of the storytelling). All in all, well worth a read.