K-Gr 2-In this amusing retelling of the classic fable, eight-year-old Betsy has just taken the Shepherd's Oath. "She was going to be the best shepherd in Bray Valley history. And any wolf who tried to eat her sheep had better watch out!" However, Zimmo, the last wolf left on the mountain, comes up with a plan. He appears to Betsy, causing her to blow her whistle and seek aid, but then disappears when the farmers arrive, destroying her credibility and sending her back to Shepherd School. When she returns to the job and he tries his ruse again, no farmers come when Betsy calls, but she is determined to defend her flock. When she goes to hurl her plate of shepherd's pie at Zimmo, she suddenly realizes how skinny he is, and gives him the food to eat instead. Grateful, he helps the child rescue some of the sheep that are dangling over a precipice, and eventually he, too, takes the Shepherd's Oath and joins her on the hillside. The irony of the fact that the sheep are being saved from wolves so that they may be eaten by people will probably be lost on the intended audience, but the running commentary on events made by the sarcastic and silly sheep will not. Nash's cartoonlike illustrations, with their clean lines, crisp colors, and folk-art touches, add considerably to the story. This pleasant addition could generate discussion when paired with the original tale.-Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Spunky Betsy, the shepherdess in this tongue-in-cheek inversion, sticks to her guns when the townsfolk believe sheÆs only crying wolf about a threat to the flock. Sly, cartoony, pastoral illustrations with amusing speech-bubble asides show Betsy riding herd on some rambunctious sheep (the text says theyÆre too close to the cliff; the art shows them rappelling) and taming the wolf by sharing her lunch. From HORN BOOK Fall 2002, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Levine continues her tradition of reworked fairy tales with strong heroines begun with Ella Enchanted (1999) in this delightful tale of a bright young girl who can stand up for herself and the sheep she guards. When Betsy turns eight, she proudly takes the Shepherd's Oath, determined to be the best shepherd ever. Meanwhile, the last wolf on the mountain is hungry, lonely, and devising a plan to have sheep for his next meal. When Zimmo makes his appearance before Betsy and her flock, she blows her whistle and the farmers come running. But the crafty Zimmo has disappeared-part of his master plan. He repeats the show the next day-same deal. Sent back to Shepherd School and given one last chance, she packs her lunch and tends her flock. But there is Zimmo again, and this time he is charging right at them. Blowing her whistle fails to bring any farmers, so Betsy gets ready to hurl her lunch at the wolf, at which point he sits down and howls for food. Realizing that he is just hungry, the crafty heroine feeds him and he leaves the sheep alone. The sheep sum up one of the story's morals quite nicely: unlike the original fairy tale, "People who cry wolf may be deceived and not deceivers." Nash's (The Bugliest Bug, not reviewed, etc.) personified sheep are a stitch-walking on two legs, posing for a dive into the Soakenwetz River, belaying down a cliff, and always commenting on the current state of the story. Especially funny are the endpapers, where readers can eavesdrop on the sheep's conversations. A must-have. (Picture book. 4-10)

For this girl-centric take on The Boy Who Cried Wolf, "Kids may well cheer Betsy's courage and can-do spirit," wrote PW. Ages 4-8. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

PreS.^-Gr. 2. Two funny turns on a familiar tale: Hartman's twists species; Levine's twists gender. In The Wolf Who Cried Boy, Little Wolf wishes for something besides lamburgers and sloppy does for dinner. Actually, he'd prefer boy. Father agrees that if Little Wolf finds one, he can eat it. So the next day, to avoid another boring dinner, Little Wolf screams, "Boy!" His parents run, sniff, and search, but don't find a boy. Little Wolf thinks that's so funny, he pulls the same trick again, and his parents catch on. When Little Wolf sees a troop of boy scouts, he can't believe his eyes. Of course, his parents don't believe him--even when a scout makes himself at home on the wolves' couch. Unlike fractured fairy tales that rely simply on premise, this one finds humor in the details, in both the story (Granny Smith pie featuring a "hard, crusty" granny) and the art (the mischievous scout, emboldened by the wolves' disbelief). Raglin's sturdy pen-and-ink pictures, which soar above their cartoon styling, are electric with fun. In Betsy, the illustrations are also more than simply amusing. Nash uses balloon captions for his sheep to express their thoughts about Betsy, the new eight-year-old shepherd. Betsy is determined to be the best shepherd ever, but Zimmo the wolf has another plan. Betsy spots Zimmo, who has all the characteristics on the wolf checklist, but he disappears when the grown-ups show up to check him out. The next time that happens, Betsy is sent back to shepherd school. The third time, Betsy deals with him herself and makes him a friend with her shepherd pies. The pacing slows a bit at the end, but there are some laugh-aloud moments and children will identify with the feisty, young shepherd. There's a glow and a flow to the pictures that add shine to the story. --Ilene Cooper