"The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids," is a story about an old mother goat, her seven little kids and a wolf. In the story, the old mother goat tells her seven little kids that she was going out into the woods to look for food for them. She warned her kids about the wolf and went on her way. After she left, the kids heard someone knock on the door and say "Open the door, dear children! Here's your mother back, with something for each of you!" The kids knew it was the wolf because of his voice. The wolf decided to go to the village store to buy a piece of chalk. He ate it and his voice turned soft and gentle. The wolf went back to the house and tried to get the kids to open the door again by telling them it was their mother. This time they noticed the wolf's black feet and wouldn't open the door. Again, he left the house. This time, the wolf went to the baker and asked for some dough to be put on his paw, then asked the miller to sprinkle some white flour on his paw. When the miller refused, the wolf threatened to eat him. Since the miller was afraid, he did as the wolf said. The wolf went back to the house a third time and told the kids to open the door for their mother. The kids demanded to see the feet so they knew if it was their mother or not. After the wolf showed his white feet, the kids opened the door expecting their mother. But, it was the wolf who came in. All seven kids ran to hide from the wolf. The wolf found them and ate every single one of them, except the youngest, who was hiding inside the grandfather clock. The wolf then left and went to take a nap under a tree. When old mother goat came home, she noticed the house was a disaster. She called out each kids name one by one. The last name she called for was the youngest kid, who was the only one that was able to answer back. He told his mother everything and she began to cry for the other kids. They then went down to the meadow and found the wolf sleeping under a tree. She cut open the wolf's stomach after seeing movement and wondered if her kids were still alive. One by one hopped out six kids. After they were all out, the mother instructed them to go get rocks, so they did. The old mother goat filled up the wolfs stomach with rocks, then hurried to sew him up before he awoke and they headed back home. When the wolf finally woke up, he was thirsty and went for some water in the well. When he leaned over the well to drink the water, he stumbled into the well and the weight of the rocks caused him to drown. The old mother goat and her seven children celebrated the death of the wolf.

I found this to be a cute story for young children. The story teaches children the lesson treat others the way you want to be treated. The wolf was mean and ate six kids, so he suffered the consequences of his own actions by getting what he deserved. The title of this book, "The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids," has a greater meaning than what some may understand. Since a baby goat is sometimes called a kid, the author created this title referring to the old mother goat's baby goat's. As I examined the cover of the book, I figured out the meaning in which the author intended of the title. The illustrations throughout the book were very descriptive and easy to read. I like that the illustration speak to readers so that they are able to easily make predictions about what will most likely happen next. ( )

The old fairy tale springs anew with fun illustrations! The wolf tricks the goat kids into letting him into their house so he can "gobble them up", but misses one who is hiding in the grandfather clock. Of course, their mother saves the day and the wolf falls in the well and dies, while all the kid goats are alive and well with their family. ( )

Wolf and the Seven Little Kids was about a wolf that wanted to eat the seven little goats. He eats six of them, but the mother ends up saving them in the end. This was a nice fairytale, but I do not think I would rad this to my students. It was kind of gruesome and cruel. I emjoyed it, but I do not know if my students would. ( )

This is one of my favorite of the Brothers Grimm folktales. It's not quite as well-known as the other wolf stories, but something about this one has always grabbed me.

An old mother goat leaves her seven kids at home while she goes out to look for food. Of course, she warns them not to let strangers in, especially the wolf! and reminds them they can recognize him by his gruff voice and black paws.

Of course, the wolf shows up as soon as she's gone, and the kids helpfully tell him they know he's not their mother - he has a gruff voice! So he goes off to village, buys a piece of chalk, and eats it to make his voice soft and gentle.

I always wondered what eating chalk would do to your voice...

He knocks again, but this time the kids get a look at his feet and know he's not their mother - he's got black paws. So off to the baker, who hands over dough to put on his paws and then to the miller for flour. The miller is the only one of the village storekeepers who realizes there's something a little odd about the wolf's requests, but the wolf threatens to eat him so he hands over the flour.

Which makes me wonder - are there a lot of wolves wandering around this village, eating chalk and wrapping their paws in dough?

Back at the house, the kids let in the wolf (did their mother not take a key with her?). They try to hide, each in a different spot, but the wolf finds and eats them all, except the youngest who has hidden in the grandfather clock. He goes off to sleep off his meal and the old mother goat returns home. Horrified, she calls her kids one by one...and when she gets to the youngest, he answers (Why not before? Did he think the wolf had somehow divined his siblings' names after he had eaten them?)

They go for a walk. Nature heals, you know. Luckily, they come upon the wolf and see something moving in his stomach. Old mother goat cuts open his stomach (he SLEEPS through this??) and out pop the goats. They replace the goats with stones. When the wolf wakes up, he's thirsty and goes to get a drink...and falls in and drowns. The goats celebrate and live happily ever after.

There isn't really a moral to this (Always make sure your mother takes her key? Get a bigger peephole in your door? Don't fall asleep after eating 6 baby goats?) But the folklore rhythm of the story and the repetition is irresistible to children - and I still love this story myself.

The best edition I've found is Bernadette Watts. Her pictures are delightful and I love that she's made all the protagonists animals, so the doubtful miller is a cat (which makes the wolf's threat much more believable) while the storekeeper who sells the wolf the chalk is a rather dim-looking sheep.

Verdict: A little long for a toddler storytime, but a perfect choice for longer storytimes. If you have abnormally sensitive kids and parents you might want to skip the wolf's death, but most kids will be pleased by the logic - you eat someone's kids, you drown. Makes sense to me.

ISBN: 1558584455; Published September 1995 by North-South (out of print); Borrowed from the library; Added to my personal wishlist