THE WOLF'S LUNCH
by Olivier Douzou & illustrated by Olivier Douzou
In tight close-ups and by offering only one or two shapes at a time, Douzou introduces the wolf's visage piece by piece. The illustrations are artful but abstract: To a toddler the wolf's nose on the page is just a red brick, and the jagged triangles that are its teeth, shown with a carrot in a vise-like clench, are unreadable. That's the point. When enough body parts are present to construe what this creature is, children learn that the wolf is a vegetarian. A witty volume that seems aimed over the heads of the conventional board-book audience, but that will have children giggling. (Board book. 2-4)