McCleery, William
Description
Product Description
Read by Anthony Heald
One cassette / 1 hour 8 mins.
Take one young boy, his father and their bedtime ritual--a story. Five-year
...
-old Michael has somehow managed it so that he gets to order up the basic ingredients of each night's story, whereupon Dad spins the tale and adds the embellishments. The only thing is, Michael doles out the same essential ingredients each time: a foppish wolf named Waldo and a hen named Rainbow. As bedtimes go by, the stories become more and more outlandish. Not only that, they spread out into the daytime, too! So what used to be bedtime ritual is now an anytime-he-can-get-his-Dad-to-squeeze-in-an-eipsode arrangement. And as the delightfully absurd story unfolds (and unfolds
even more) we can't help smiling while whitnessing the eternal battle between good and evil as orchestrated by a five-year-old boy. It's no wonder that this endearingly funny and down-to-earth classic has endured for years.
From School Library Journal
Grade 1-6-In this read-aloud version of William McCleery's Wolf Story (Shoe String, 1988), a small boy and a patient father take what began as a perfunctory bedtime story and massage it into a tale of greater proportions. After begging his father for a nighttime tale, Michael supplies his own elements leading to the story of Rainbow, a resourceful, courageous hen. She meets Waldo, a wolf who fits the pattern set by his predecessors of being persistent and threatening but not too bright. Later, the tale is continued at the beach and during car trips. Father, son, and a young friend mold the story to their own liking based on their moods and growing perceptions of what really should happen to these characters. Originally published in 1947, McCleery's story contains rich dialogue. Anthony Heald's expressive reading suggests the appropriate moods, from the father's playfulness at changing those timeworn stereotypes for the fun of it to Michael's intense insistence as he decides who will or will not be eaten. Heald's reading also underscores the father-child relationship as the two engage in shaping this oral masterpiece together. An example is Michael's father's patient, parentlike admonition as to why Michael should say "darn" rather than "damn" even though adults occasionally use it. This story will appeal to listeners who enjoy playing with story elements themselves. Teachers and librarians will find it an attractive selection for those listeners who enjoy a more subtle tale about characters having fun with a story.ANancy L. Chu, Western Illinois University, Macomb
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From the Inside Flap
ony Heald
One cassette / 1 hour 8 mins.
Take one young boy, his father and their bedtime ritual--a story. Five-year-old Michael has somehow managed it so that he gets to order up the basic ingredients of each night's story, whereupon Dad spins the tale and adds the embellishments. The only thing is, Michael doles out the same essential ingredients each time: a foppish wolf named Waldo and a hen named Rainbow. As bedtimes go by, the stories become more and more outlandish. Not only that, they spread out into the daytime, too! So what used to be bedtime ritual is now an anytime-he-can-get-his-Dad-to-squeeze-in-an-eipsode arrangement. And as the delightfully absurd story unfolds (and unfolds even more) we can't help smiling while whitnessing the eternal battle between good and evil as orchestrated by a five-year-old boy. It's no wonder that this endearingly funny and down-to-earth class
About the Author
As a journalist William McCleery was an Associated Press reporter and editor, as well as a magazine editor. He turned his talents to the theatre, as playwright for a host of productions includingtwo on Broadway:
Hope for the Best and
Parlor Story. He has also written several books.
READER BIO:
Anthony Heald's filmwork includes
The Client, The Pelican Brief, Searching for Bobby Fisher, Sile
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