The Wolf Who Cried Boy
by Bob Hartman
Illustrated by Tim Raglin

A young wolf dislikes his parents cooking; nothing tastes as good as boy, but boy is a rarity. The young wolf would rather eat snacks than dinner, so he ruins several night's dinners by distracting his parents from their cooking by falsely advertising the presence of boys. He brags about his trickery on the phone but is overheard by his parents. When a boy scout troop makes an appearance, the young wolf realizes that he has lost his opportunity to eat boy as his parents are unresponsive to his cries.

This is fun, even if you know what happens as soon as you read the title. It's not all that logical; as the chain of causation seems to go "we'd rather eat boy than our regular dinner, but since we can't eat boy, we'll eat snacks" and this is entirely satisfactory to the young wolf. Anyway, it seems like kids think they're smart for figuring out what's going to happen from the title, and kids like this book.

Bad Boys Get Cookie!
by Margie Palatini
Illustrated by Henry Cole
2006

After kids get psyched up for Bad Boys, it's nice to know there's a follow up. This book mashes in the gingerbread man and Hansel and Gretel. Willy and Wally have a sweet tooth so they're all too happy to chase after missing Cookie. It has pretty much the same flaws as the first book ["brain ditto" again...argh] but is enjoyable in the same way. Kids like this one, too.

Bad Boys
by Margie Palatini
Illustrated by Henry Cole
2003

Take the big bad wolf from Little Red Riding Hood and the big bad wolf from The Three Little Pigs and you have two bad boys! Willy and Wally Wolf are hiding out..."on the lam." In this pun filled story, they lay low by hanging out with the [Little Bo] Peep Sheep. They think they've done a good job staying in character until they hear "bzzzzz"...

Kids like this book a lot. It's a great premise. The title is brilliant. But...Some of the humor will be lost on most kids (Meryl Sheep, "I knew the Peep Sheep, and you are no Peep Sheep"). Certain choices in diction ("brain ditto") are hard to read aloud without cringing.

This books shows a really great concept that is diminished somewhat by the telling. Still, kids really like it! And that makes me happy.