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pancakeducks's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
grubstlodger's review against another edition
4.0
The genius of the Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf stories is hinted at in the title. This is a world where the wolf never shall be able to eat Polly as he wishes, while this does rather lower the stakes it allows the stories to allows them to develop the characters of Polly and the Wolf, and to develop their relationship.
The Wolf is a wonderful creation, yes he’s motivated to cook and eat Polly (it would appear most of wolf culture is food-based) and although he never succeeds he wakes each day with a brilliant new scheme to try. This means that although he are sometimes sorry for the predicaments that Wolf finds himself in, we know he brush himself off and try again with renewed excitement and confidence - which is oddly touching.
Written to help a real Polly overcome her fear of storybook wolves, many of them feature a take on classic fairy tales. Wolf tries to blow down her house (and then decides to try and blow it up). He plots to get to Granny’s house first but can’t navigate the tube lines - this book is clearly set in London, they go to Hampstead Heath and London Zoo. In one story, Wolf buys hair dye so he can be a fox, because foxes always win their stories. There is also a chapter in each book where Wolf supplies Polly with the wolf versions of nursery rhymes, I like how Wolf says that poetry needs to make someone feel something, usually hunger.
Some of the best stories are not based on anything. I loved when Wolf thought he was invisible and preceded to make an idiot out of himself but didn’t realise people could see him because he’s in London and Londoners are trained to ignore someone acting weirdly. The story where he gets trapped in the zoo and misunderstands all of Polly’s plans to get him out is also a favourite.
There are four Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf books, two written in the fifties, one in the eighties and one in the nineties. The two earlier ones are much of a piece, the stories in one could be in the other. The eighties collection seemed like a pale imitation of the earlier two but it’s the nineties one that’s strange. In one, Wolf goes to a plastic surgeon to help him with a disguise and is horrified at the maiming involved, and the fee. In another he goes to a Doctor and tells him about Polly, who suggests she might have hyperactivity and that she should cut down on dairy. Plastic surgery and ADHD should not exist in the fairytale world of Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf. However, that last collection also has a wonderful tale on the ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’ idea, having Wolf pose as a sheep in a brilliantly wooden school nativity play.
I read all four books together, which in retrospect is not something I recommend. Although previous adventures are alluded to, each chapter stands on its own and can get a little repetitive in succession.
The Wolf is a wonderful creation, yes he’s motivated to cook and eat Polly (it would appear most of wolf culture is food-based) and although he never succeeds he wakes each day with a brilliant new scheme to try. This means that although he are sometimes sorry for the predicaments that Wolf finds himself in, we know he brush himself off and try again with renewed excitement and confidence - which is oddly touching.
Written to help a real Polly overcome her fear of storybook wolves, many of them feature a take on classic fairy tales. Wolf tries to blow down her house (and then decides to try and blow it up). He plots to get to Granny’s house first but can’t navigate the tube lines - this book is clearly set in London, they go to Hampstead Heath and London Zoo. In one story, Wolf buys hair dye so he can be a fox, because foxes always win their stories. There is also a chapter in each book where Wolf supplies Polly with the wolf versions of nursery rhymes, I like how Wolf says that poetry needs to make someone feel something, usually hunger.
Some of the best stories are not based on anything. I loved when Wolf thought he was invisible and preceded to make an idiot out of himself but didn’t realise people could see him because he’s in London and Londoners are trained to ignore someone acting weirdly. The story where he gets trapped in the zoo and misunderstands all of Polly’s plans to get him out is also a favourite.
There are four Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf books, two written in the fifties, one in the eighties and one in the nineties. The two earlier ones are much of a piece, the stories in one could be in the other. The eighties collection seemed like a pale imitation of the earlier two but it’s the nineties one that’s strange. In one, Wolf goes to a plastic surgeon to help him with a disguise and is horrified at the maiming involved, and the fee. In another he goes to a Doctor and tells him about Polly, who suggests she might have hyperactivity and that she should cut down on dairy. Plastic surgery and ADHD should not exist in the fairytale world of Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf. However, that last collection also has a wonderful tale on the ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’ idea, having Wolf pose as a sheep in a brilliantly wooden school nativity play.
I read all four books together, which in retrospect is not something I recommend. Although previous adventures are alluded to, each chapter stands on its own and can get a little repetitive in succession.
beyondthebig5's review against another edition
5.0
I bought this - a childhood favourite - to pass on to a work colleague for her son but couldn't resist rereading it myself first. It's a really funny and wonderfully feminist fairy tale, as Polly constantly outwits the wolf. Their relationship is surprisingly sweet at times, with her having to rescue him at a few points - perhaps most hilariously when he kidnaps her ultra-demanding baby sister!
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