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Summary: The book begins with an introduction of a young child by the name of Oliver James. He goes to band practice, playing the snare. However, while waiting for the bus to take him home the full-moon comes out and he turns into a werewolf! This causes all of his friends to flee and the bus to drive directly past him. At first he is sad when he discovers that he was a werewolf, but then he realizes that it is actually really cool due to all of his new abilities. He can run faster, smell better and jump higher than his human counterparts. Still, his parents were expecting him back home soon, and he had no idea how they would react to his being a werewolf.
Straight Talk for Librarians: This book teaches a powerful lesson: that being different is not necessarily a bad thing. Although his appearance varied drastically from his friends following his transformation into a werewolf, he discovered many things he could do that his friends were incapable of. This is analogous to real-life in that no two people are the same; everyone has something that makes them unique and special. It can be used in the discussion of mythology or as a fun book to read around Halloween time as it centers around a werewolf. The art is of excellent quality and assists emerging readers with visualizing the scene described in the book. It also subtly emphasizes the importance of curfews and being on time for events as he has to race home to be back for dinner with his family promptly at 6:00. Most of the book takes place in the dark and the illustrations reflect that with the purple tone. The ending is also very satisfying and although I do not want to spoil it, has an excellent message and leaves the reader with something to ponder even after the story is complete. The emotions of the main character, Oliver James, are also easy to identify and sympathize with. Overall, it's a fun, short story jam packed with action, excitement and important lessons for emerging young readers.
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