Lone Wolf goes to the library

Lone Wolf (Lone Wolf: Gets a Pet and Lone Wolf: Goes to School, both rev. 3/25) is back with two new misadventures. In the first, Wolf, whose energy is Oscar the Grouch meets Wile E. Coyote, wants to return a library book without running into the noisy kids at storytime. In the second, he goes on vacation hoping to evade social interaction. As in past installments, Wolf manifests everything he hopes to avoid, and his limited vocabulary ("Grrrr") leaves him helpless to communicate effectively. Fans of the first two series outings will appreciate the appearance of recurring characters such as the eager girl and the jolly hiker toting his goldfish in a plastic bag, but each book's dry, off-kilter situational humor stands on its own merits. Steele's watercolor and pencil illustrations have a classic cartoon appeal. Spreads establish setting, while close-ups and spot illustrations focus on character and action. A sequence of illustrations in which Wolf tries to avoid a "snotty little boy" whose mucus subsequently befouls the library's book return chute is LOL funny, as is the look of horror on Wolf's face when the driver of a nearly empty bus proposes a singalong. These transitional readers will appeal to kids who like their humor with a heavy dose of irony. (c) Copyright 2025. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Anxious, antisocial Wolf avoids, then confronts, a crisis involving an overdue book. Absorbed in his book, Wolf ignores the postman's cries of "Mail!" until a flung missive hits his backside. The third notice from an old-school tyrant known as "The Stern Librarian" warns that he will be forever banned from borrowing books unless he returns his tome that very day. Reluctant to go to the library (where he might encounter "noisy kids having fun"--horrors!), Wolf tries unsuccessfully to mail his book back. Next, Wolf encounters the jolly hiker (whom readers may remember from earlier titles) and attempts to trick him into returning the book, but his plans go awry. Wolf's now desperate to reach the library before the crowd of kids arrives for storytime. Will the imperious librarian and the rude children defeat him? Can he take matters into his own paws and return to his comfortable chaise longue? Surrounded as he is by unsympathetic public servants and literally snotty youngsters, Wolf's isolationist obsessions are all too understandable. The tightly focused sentences move briskly in Thomas and Steele's third wryly clever installment; developing readers will giggle while eagerly turning pages. The art again perfectly suits the droll, understated text as googly-eyed, squat kids and a desiccated, grumpy librarian join the crotchety but somehow cuddly Wolf. (His book choices?A Room of One's Own andHowl.) The human cast is diverse. Another can't-miss outing with an irresistible, introverted antihero.(Early reader. 6-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.