A Different Kind of Wolf Story
In a story you would never find on shelves for children that long ago, Valérie Fontaine and Nathalie Dion along with translator Shelley Tanaka explore a child’s observations and understandings when living in a home with an abusive adult in their new picture book The Big Bad Wolf in My House.
Putting a spin on the classic wolf fairy tale, in The Big Bad Wolf in My House the wolf walks right in the front door. At first he is kind but slowly his wolfish nature emerges, yelling, smashing and leaving bruises. Mother finally finds the courage to leave the Big Bad Wolf and find hope and comfort in a house with other mothers and children, built with the strongest bricks, never to be blown down.
I am so struck by the power and the importance of this picture book, clearly about domestic violence. I was blow away reading when I realized the impact of a story like The Big Bad Wolf in my House. So many people suffer in silence went facing domestic abuse. How incredibly vital is a book like this to let children know they are seen and they are safe in it’s pages. Children will see their experiences on the page and hopefully gain courage to talk to a teacher or trusted adult after reading.
The Big Bad Wolf in My House is an incredibly powerful story told in a simple and straightforward manner. The child narrator is describing the ways the wolf is bad, how he is blowing his way through the house and how the house feels like straw and sticks. The illustrations by Nathalie Dion are sparse. She carefully uses a minimalist approach to let the words echo out to the readers. When the Big Bad Wolf is around the illustrations are dark and sharp but when it’s just mom and the little girl they are soft and gentle, holding the reader and protecting them from the harsh wolf.
This is a story that may scare parents, you may feel like since the subject matter doesn’t reflect your experience then it's not a story you will share with your children. Consider though, we know that many children live in homes that are unsafe, especially now when we have nowhere to be but at home, these situations are increasingly dangerous for women and young children. There is probably a child sitting in class with yours or, if you are a teacher yourself, in your class who may be experiencing a big bad wolf of their own and this story will show them they are not alone and perhaps give them the courage to tell a trusted adult. The publisher includes organizations to contact if you or someone you know needs help. Let’s make sure all children feel comforted and seen in the stories we share.
