Saint Francis and the Wolf

Egielski, Richard

ISBN 10: 0066238714 ISBN 13: 9780066238715

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2005

Synopsis

Terrible wolf is terrorizing the town of Gubbia, and no one can stop him! First the townspeople send a brave knight. He never returns. Then they send an army of trained warriors. They get destroyed. Finally the townspeople send a great and mighty war machine, but even that can't stop the wolf. The villagers don't know what to do -- until Saint Francis visits the town and speaks to the wolf in his own language.

Caldecott Medal -- winning artist Richard Egielski exquisitely illustrates this classic tale of love, friendship, and the importance of living together in harmony.

About this title

About the Author:

Richard Egielski is the Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator of Hey, Al and many other books for children, including the Tub People series by Pam Conrad. He is also the author and illustrator of Buz and Jazper, both New York Times Best Illustrated Books, Three Magic Balls, and The Gingerbread Boy. Mr. Egielski lives in Milford, New Jersey, with his wife and son.

From Booklist:

*Starred Review* PreS-Gr. 2. Children are easily drawn to stories about St. Francis and his powerful, easy ability to connect with the Earth's creatures, and Egielski's retelling of a famous St. Francis legend, the wolf of Grubbio, is an entertaining, pitch-perfect gem. The first line--"A long time ago, in Italy, when knights battled and kings and queens lived in grand castles"--sets a fairy-tale tone, which fits the story beautifully. There isn't an off step in the brief, descriptive text; the succinct, winsome passages are perfectly paced for read-alouds, and they nimbly share the storytelling with Egielski's detailed illustrations. Printed on speckled paper resembling parchment scrolls and bordered with details from Italian art history, the rich artwork extends the words' fine balance between earnest, fantasy conventions and gleeful humor in scenes filled with grand architecture and costumes and wholly expressive characters. Frequent, wordless spreads show the wolf, more schoolyard bully than terrifying beast, easily dispatching knights and soldiers (he's shown lounging in his armor-strewn lair, picking his teeth with a knight's spear), before St. Francis tames him "with love," and the town lives peacefully ever after. For more about St. Francis for the age group, suggest Robert Kennedy Jr.'s Saint Francis of Assisi (2005) and Margaret Hodges' Brother Francis and the Friendly Beasts (1991). Gillian Engberg
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About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0066238714
• ISBN 13: 9780066238715
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Egielski Richard