Be a Wolf!

This book was a wonderful dose of nostalgia, much needed to break up the funk I was in after a disappointing ending to a six-novel series I'd quite liked otherwise. I have a deep fondness for childhood memories featuring Wishbone - and to this day still have a talking Wishbone plush and a smaller keychain-attached plush of him displayed proudly in my room - so this book took me to a happier time, far away from the troubles of the real world. As my Wishbone plush says when one of his spots is touched: “Let's curl up with a good book, and then have a snack!” And that's basically what I did with Be A Wolf! and my trusty pal... and my real life dog.

But you're not here to listen to me ramble about the wonders of nostalgia, so let's get down to the book's contents itself! As I've come to expect from Wishbone novels, it's partially narrated by the character of Wishbone and includes some asides for educational information (in this case with regards to the history of Beowulf and how it looked in Old English). He also comes in from time to time to move the story along with a bit of exposition. It feels very reminiscent of the television show, but so long has passed that I'm not sure exactly how similar that is, nor whether there was ever a Beowulf-themed episode. Given the amount of fantasy-themed killing and bloodshed, I doubt it. But I never found the story to be too gruesome, especially since it's very clearly laid out as fiction-within-fiction so there's two layers of separation for younger readers.

Be A Wolf! follows two concurrent stories: First, Wishbone's human friend (son of the family he lives with) Joe loses his backpack and suspects a scary, old woman took it since he'd hung it on her fence. She has a bulldog in her yard, and his friend's parents always warned them to steer clear of the lady, so he's quite terrified to go ask for his backpack. Since her name is Grindle, it reminds Wishbone of Beowulf's fight against a monster called Grendel, thus sparking the second story: Wishbone's fantasy about being Beowulf and facing his fears to protect the people he cares about.

The chapters jump from fantasy to reality seamlessly, the story of Beowulf being interwoven as moments where Wishbone stops to daydream about being the hero. Just the right amount of time is spent on each, and nothing ever seems to drag along or get boring. Yes, the writing is very much aimed at younger readers - I suspect middlegrade through the younger end of young adults - and that very much shows, but overall it's still quite enjoyable for a nostalgic adult such as myself. I suspect older teens would be embarrassed by the part where Beowulf is ‘played by a dog' - quite literally, since it's Wishbone imagining himself in Beowulf's place, he's described as being a dog, down to tail wagging and having to wield swords by swinging them from the grip of his teeth. However, I thought that was a fun and quirky way to present the story and it added to all those happy, nostalgic feelings.

Not being familiar with the original tale of Beowulf, I can't say one way or the other how faithful this adaptation is. I suspect it's been quite heavily redacted for a younger audience, but there's a chance I'm mistaken. The overarching tale of Joe's lost backpack and Mrs. Grindle, however, is also quite well told. I didn't anticipate how it would end until roughly midway, and even then that was because I suspected the story would wrap up a certain way based on how children's television is written and not necessarily based on the author giving anything away in the story itself.

Overall, this is a fun book that I thoroughly enjoyed as a light, pleasant break from the more mentally draining stuff I've been reading lightly. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys lighthearted, quirky fantasy or who has nostalgic fondness for Wishbone. (Or anyone who happens to like the idea of a Jack Russell Terrior who imagines himself as classic literary heroes!)