Top Ten Tuesday: The Big, Bad Wolf

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday theme is all about villains. While I could have gone for epic villains in children’s literature like The Trunchbull in Matilda or Severine from The Jumbies. I decided to go in a little bit of a different direction and share the fractured fairy tales of the Big, Bad Wolf. The Big, Bad Wolf is a common staple among fairy tales and folk tales and of course people who are much smarter and wittier than I am have written fractured fairy tales based on these stories too. Today, I’m sharing ten picture books that center the story around the supposed big, bad wolf. Readers may be surprised to learn that the big, bad wolf might not be as big and bad as we originally thought!

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The Big, Bad Wolf

Big Bad Wolf Investigates: Fairy Tales by Catherine Cawthorne, illustrated by Sara Ogilvie

Did a princess really feel a tiny pea through a mountain of mattresses? And could a pumpkin actually turn into a carriage to carry Cinderella to the ball? Of course not! It’s all a load of fairytale NONSENSE! Or is it . . . ? The Big Bad Wolf is on a mission to find the truth behind these tales, and clear his name in the process.

Combining STEM topics with classic stories children know and love, this hilarious non-fiction picture book is perfect for inquisitive children always asking big questions!

The Big Bad Wolf Is Good by Simon Puttock, illustrated by Lynne Chapman

Poor Wolf—he’s so lonely! Nobody wants to be his friend.

Not the ducklings, not the goslings, not the fuzzy yellow chicks. “Perhaps it’s because I’m big and scary,” he thinks. “Perhaps it’s because I’m bad, bad, bad.” Then he has a bright idea: What if he changes his ways and becomes good? What if he does a noble deed?

But, none of the animals will listen when Wolf tries to tell them about his new plan. They just flee in terror, slamming the door right in his face. Then something really awful happens: one of the ducklings disappears and everybody thinks Wolf has eaten him all up. Can the Big Bad Wolf prove he didn’t have duck for dinner—and bring the lost little baby safely home?

Look Out, Wolf! There’s a Beast In Your Book by Jude Evans, illustrated by Lucy Semple

It’s a beautiful day in the forest, and all of the animals are enjoying themselves. Suddenly, the big, bad wolf appears, ready to gobble everyone up! But to the wolf’s surprise, no one is afraid of him; in fact, they ask him to save them from the bad guy in the forest. The wolf sets off to the home of the three little pigs, and they ask him to help them make a contraption to catch the bad guy. What’s a big, bad wolf to do? A hilarious twist on a classic tale that features lift-the-flaps throughout.

Once Upon a Big Bad Wolf by Leigh Hodgkinson, illustrated by Adam Ming

Have you ever wondered why the Mean Old Witch is mean? Or why the Big Bad Wolf is bad?

They weren’t always that way… The Big Bad Wolf used to be small and sweet. But when a witch was mean to him, everything changed …

The Mean Old Witch used to be young and kind, singing to the birds and picking up litter, until an unfortunate encounter with a Horrible Stinky Troll …

There Is No Big Bad Wolf in This Story by Lou Carter

The Big Bad Wolf is late AGAIN and is ruining stories as he rushes through the forest to Grandma’s house. When the Three Little Pigs get seriously grumpy AGAIN, Wolf tells them he’s had ENOUGH. There will be no more HUFFING and PUFFING from this Big Bad Wolf. The fairytale characters aren’t worried – they can totally manage without him!

But Big Bad Wolfing is harder than it looks . And what happens when they realise that they really need a Big Bad Wolf in this story?

Too Many Pigs and One Big Bad Wolf by Davide Cali, illustrated by Marianna Balducci

Once upon a time, there were three little pigs.
Then the wolf ate them.
THE END.

This story is too short! I want a longer one!

In this clever counting book, the big bad wolf doesn’t want to tell a long story. He wants to get to the eating part. But the reader has other ideas. From a pig soccer team to a pig for every letter of the alphabet to 101 pigs in an animated movie, the stories get more and more fantastical . . . but they’re always too short and they ALL end the same way.

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs! by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith

You may think you know the story of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf—but only one person knows the real story. That person is A. Wolf. His tale starts with a birthday cake for his dear old granny, a bad head cold . . . and a bad reputation. It ends in the Big House: the Pig Pen. What really happened when A. Wolf was at the door? Was it an historic pig out or a Mother Goose frame-up? You read it. You decide.

The Wolf’s Chicken Stew by Keiko Kasza

The wolf loves to eat more than anything in the world and one day he has a terrible craving for chicken stew. He spots a chicken who seems just right, but then he thinks how much more stew there will be if he fattens her up before dining himself. So he goes home and begins to cook all kinds of scrumptious food for the chicken to eat. A big surprise is in store for the wolf when he finally visits Mrs. Chicken to collect his meal.

The Wolf’s Story by Toby Forward

No, please. Look at me.
Would I LIE to you?
It was the old woman who started it.

Everyone knows there are at least two sides to every story, and if you believe in the big-eared, sharp-toothed villain of Little Red Riding Hood, there’s a logical explanation for everything. As our antihero tells it, it all starts with the helpful wolf doing odd jobs for Grandma (are you sure you don’t want to sit a little closer?). How was he to know that he spoiled Little Red would come along and ruin a good working relationship? Zooming in dramatically from strategic angles, the amusing illustrations offer visual clues that this is a story to be taken with a grain of salt — and a lot of giggling.

The Wolf Who Cried Boy by Bob Hartman, illustrated by Tim Ragli

Little Wolf is tired of his mom’s cooking! It’s the same old thing night after night, Lamburgers and Sloppy Does. How he wishes his mother would serve up a nice platter of his favorite dish-Boy!

But Boy is hard to come by these days. As Little Wolf trudges home from school one day, he decides to postpone his boring dinner by shouting “Boy! Boy!” But what will happen when a real boy finally comes along?

In this hilarious twisted tale, Little Wolf learns the same timeless lesson that the boy who cried “Wolf!” did so many years ago.

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.