The Wolf's Footprint Kindle Edition

Susan Price can scare you as effectively as Stephen King. This perfect fairytale is a reminder that she also writes brilliantly for younger children – with that finely-tuned balance of darkness and hope that characterises classic fables. The two children of a starving family are abandoned, Hansel and Gretel style, in the wood to perish – and then the big bad wolves come. Except, these wolves aren’t bad – they are a considerable improvement on the human adults we’ve met so far, including the remote figure of the King (whose harsh policy on poaching is responsible for the village starving).There’s a wonderful ‘squick’ factor that kids will love, in the way that the wolves have for bringing food to the children. Reality is uncompromising in a Price tale. Rescued by the wolf pack, the sister and brother have a magical adventure ahead of them – but fate intervenes to divide their path, and each will face a hard choice. We also get to meet the King himself – who gets a chance to redeem himself and provide what passes (in Susan Price’s world, anyway) for a happy ending. But of course, it’s not quite that simple… which is why the story will linger in the mind and probably be re-read many, many times.A special mention must go to the illustrations – or rather the artwork, by Susan’s brother Andrew Price. These are top-quality, vivid and lifelike even on the monochrome screen of a Kindle, in the same style as the marvellous covers of the Ghost World series, and so already recognisable as Susan Price’s trademark look. PriceClan is an independent publisher to watch - and The Wolf’s Footprint is a classic reborn.

This is a Hansel and Gretel story with a twist or two. Daw and Elka are hungry: nettles sting as they collect them and the last few acorns are almost gone. Their mother thinks it would be better for the children to be eaten by wolves than to suffer the slow death of starvation. Or is it that she just can't bear to watch? Women are harsher than men in this story and wolves are kinder than humans. As always with Susan Price the writing is simple and often beautiful. This story and its ending may touch the imaginations of the younger readers and leave them wondering