Little Wolf's Haunted Hall for Small Horrors

By Ian Whybrow
Illustrated by Tony Ross

Carolrhoda, 2000 (first American)
$12.95 hardcover
125 pages

Little Wolf has a new scheme for getting rich quick. He will open a school called Haunted Hall, where young forest creatures can learn to be brute beasts. Little and his cousin Yeller are the Co-Heads and little brother Smellybreff is a Small Horror. Now if only the ghost of Uncle Bigbad will agree to be school spirit Haunted Hall is sure to be a success.

But wait . . . now Smellybreff wants to be a Deputy Head, and Uncle Bigbad would rather lounge in his grave than do anything resembling work. After all the potential students run away in terror, Little's only hope is to find someone brave enough to stand up to Uncle Bigbad. Will Haunted Hall for Small Horrors ever open its doors?

Don't let the title fool you -- this book is funny as all get-out! The plot alone is an entertaining escalation of difficulties, and that's only half the fun. Little Wolf's letters to his parents (the whole book is told that way) are complete with complaints about Smellybreff and requests for snacks from home, hint, hint. He doesn't spell well, which is funny enough in itself, but Little also has a hilarious (and distinctive) way of phrasing things. "Thank you for your LOUD REPLY in red ink," he writes once, signing the letter, "Yours toldoffly."

And we mustn't forget the illustrations: Tony Ross's plentiful and spirited line drawings make a perfect pairing with Ian Whybrow's text. Between the two of them readers young and old alike are sure to keep laughing until the end.

Little himself is an admirable little guy. He persists despite repeated setbacks but also recognizes when to move on to new ideas. His cheerful optimism is infectious. And any kid who has ever had a younger sibling tag along unwantedly will sympathize with his frustration with Smellybreff.

Fans of Little Wolf's two earlier appearances in Little Wolf's Book of Badness and Little Wolf's Diary of Daring Deeds will be thrilled (arrroooo!) to see him again. And if Haunted Hall is your first book, well, guess what - you're a fan now. A fourth book, Little Wolf, Forest Detective, was recently published in Britain -- and I, for one, hope it has an American release soonly.

All about Little Wolf:
Little Wolf's Book of Badness. Carolrhoda,1999 (HarperCollins 1995)
Little Wolf's Diary of Daring Deeds. Carolrhoda 2000
Little Wolf's Haunted Hall for Small Horrors. Carolrhoda, 1998 (HarperCollins 2000)
Little Wolf, Forest Detective. HarperCollins, 2000 (UK)
Little Wolf's Postbag. HarperCollins 2000 (UK).

Reviewed by Wendy Morris. © 2001 by Wendy Morris.

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