The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse [Hardcover]

This is a story about a duck and mouse who get swallowed by a wolf, and then decide to live in his belly.

Early one morning a mouse met a wolf
and was quickly gobbled up.

When a woeful mouse is swallowed by a wolf, he quickly learns he is not alone: a duck has already set up digs, and, boy, has that duck got it figured out! Turns out it’s pretty nice in there, with delicious food and elegant table settings, courtesy of the wolf’s unchecked gluttony. And there’s something even better: no more fear of being eaten by a wolf! In fact, life is pretty good, until a hunter shows up. . . . With a nod to traditional fables and a wink to the reader, the award-winning Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen offer a tale of cooperation and creative cuisine that is sure to go down easy.The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse…[is] funny, with morbid senses of humor that will hit Halloween sweet spots…It turns out the wolf’s gut harbors the best party in town, and some readers’ sympathies might shift toward the carnivore—aided by the great Jon Klassen’s droll paintings; no one does perturbed animals better.
—The New York Times Book Review

The story’s timeless, fable-like feel is bolstered by its traditional cast and old-fashioned fairy-tale language: “Oh, woe!” cries the wolf. “Oh shame!” Life can turn the tables pretty quickly, Barnett suggests, and only those whose outlooks are flexible will flourish. “I may have been swallowed,” says the duck, “but I have no intention of being eaten.” A rare treasure of a story, the kind that seems to have been around forever.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Barnett and Klassen’s collaborations are always good for a laugh, and this one banks heavily on absurdity, to great effect. Klassen’s mixed-media artwork transforms the wolf’s interior into a delightfully domestlÃ: