Children's Reads of the Week: 'Wiener Wolf,' 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar,' 'The Berenstain Bears'

By Katrina Bergen, Children’s/Young Adult Services Librarian,

"Wiener Wolf" by Jeff Crosby

Weiner Dog is bored, restless, and tired of being Granny’s lap dog.   Seeing wolves on TV is the call-of-the-wild he has been waiting for, and he runs away to the forest.  Coming upon a wolf pack, he sheds his Granny-knitted sweater and transforms into Wiener Wolf.  He relishes his newfound identity until what he perceives as a fun game of hide-and-seek with a deer turns out to be frighteningly serious .

Dachshund lovers will recognize the quirky, comical nature of Wiener Dog that is captured perfectly in Crosby’s illustrations.  This book is funny, exciting, and maybe a little scary with a comfy no-place-like-home ending.

"The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle

With the first signs of Spring, preschool teachers and children’s librarians are dusting off their copies of Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar.   This classic picture book is as current and popular today as it was when it was first published in 1969.

Carle includes lessons in counting, the days of the week, and food in his story about the “little egg” that becomes a “tiny and very hungry caterpillar” that turns into a “big, fat caterpillar” and finally, “a beautiful butterfly.”   The bold colorful collages that illustrate the book and minimal text make it a perfect read-aloud for small children.

Last week at the Library’s Wednesday-morning Storytime, kids were giggling like crazy over the caterpillar’s huge appetite and indiscriminate choice of food.  It will definitely be part of the Storytime the Library conducts at the on February 29.

"The Berenstain Bears" by Jo and Stan Berenstain

Children’s literature lost a beloved and popular author on February 24, 2012 when Jan Berenstain died at the age of 88.  She and her husband Stan, who died in 2005, co-wrote the Berenstain Bears series for more than fifty years. 

The Berenstains dealt with issues and concerns important to children and their parents in a humorous and compassionate way.  Come into the Dixon Public Library and read about Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Brother Bear and Sister Bear, characters inspired by the Berenstain children, and later their grandchildren. 

Like The Very Hungry Caterpillar, these books are never out-of-date.