Little Wolf’s Song
by Britta Teckentrup

A few weeks ago, when we were making totally
different animal noises with a different story, one
little boy asked me if they could howl. Of course
I said yes and we had fun howling for no reason
(do you need a reason to howl?), but it reminded
me of this lovely story that’s also perfect for winter.

The little wolf of the title is the youngest in his
family. His Daddy has a deep, low howl, his Mommy
has a sweet howl, and his siblings have “happy,
yappy” howls – but the little wolf has no howl at all.
When he tries, he only squeaks, and his siblings
tease him.

Then one night, lost in the woods, he sees a
beautiful full moon and is inspired to howl. His
Daddy finds him and they return home to howl
with the whole family.

This book is wonderful for “howl-along” reading.
Young children love to howl and it’s an easy
sound to make. Meanwhile, they learn about
the lower sounds made by big animals and the
higher sounds made by small animals. They also
practice responding to auditory cues, since we don’t
just howl all through the story, but only when a
wolf in the book howls.

Even with all the howling, this is a gentle, calming
story about the beauty of winter and the comfort
of family.