The Wolf's Chicken Stew

April 12, 1987
Wolf loves to eat almost more than anything else in the world. No sooner does he finish a meal, he's planning his next. He searches all day for a chicken for his stew. When he finally spies one, he hesitates and hatches a plan to fatten the bird, which will mean more stew. So he marshalls his considerable culinary skill and secretly delivers a succession of treats to the chicken's house: 100 scrumptious pancakes, doughnuts and pound cake. With each delivery he says: "Eat well, my pretty chicken. . . . Get nice and fat for my stew!'' But a shock is in store for the wolf, and his next meal isn't quite what he'd planned. Sprightly watercolors illustrate this imaginative tale by a newcomer. Ages 4-8.

August 1, 1987
PreS-Gr 2 -Resisting the immediate gratification of chicken stew, an insatiable wolf decides instead to fatten up his prey, leaving on her doorstep 100 "scrumptious" delicacies for each of three nights. On returning to claim his fat hen, he finds that her 100 chicks have shared the treats, and are now enamored of "Uncle Wolf." Children will enjoy both the wolf's scheming and his comeuppance, as well as the story's repetitive form. The wolf's speech is problematic, though, as it switches from correct and somewhat formal usage ("Ah, she is just perfect for my stew") to a sort of dialect ("Aw, shucks. . .I'll bake the little critters a hundred scrumptious cookies!"). Kasza's illustrations far surpass the story. Deft watercolors on wide open white pages, they convey the scheming wolf and the unflappable hen in a way that the text does not. The Wolf's Chicken Stew just needs a little more meat. David Gale, "School Library Journal"