The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Abstract

This is a wonderfully creative rendition of BW! The fun starts with a dynamic cover showing the boy running. As it turns out, he is running to town. But that move will come only in the middle of this lively book. The title-illustration shows the same run from the rear, together with a perplexed sheep munching. By a few pages into the story, the boy is picking his nose in boredom while the sheep munch. He teaches the sheep some tricks but they are not interested. Notice the amazed long-nosed bird who wonders what is happening as the boy seems to wander blindfolded off the edge of a cliff! When the run to town scene gets shown a third time, there is a young lamb with a dandelion in her mouth looking perplexed at the reader. The crowd that comes rushing out of town is a fine group, including a knight, a priest, and a man brandishing an umbrella! The next day the boy runs to town to announce two wolves! This time Kulikov cleverly presents the stampede of the crowd from ground level. The third day the boy hears not the munching of sheep but the growling of three wolves and again runs into town. No one believes him this time, and the boy spends the rest of the day looknig for his sheep. As the last page indicates, they are smart enough to perch in the branches of a tree. What fun!