Wolves in Helicopters
Hop has night terrors, filled with big, scary, hungry-eyed wolves. She knows they only live in her dreams but they still seem very real. Her mummy has some good advice, but will Hop be brave enough to take it?
They had me at the title, if I’m honest. Who could resist the idea of Wolves in helicopters?
Paddy Donnelly’s beautiful, layered illustrations take the increasingly implausible threats that Hop dreams up and literally runs with them. Hop’s dreamscapes are eerie, wild places and, despite the fear, Hop always manages to be mischievous and brave. That said, the author doesn’t shy away from the dark end Hop experiences on a nightly basis when the wolves adapt their efforts to catch her.
Nightmares can be scary and it’s a successful plot device that allows parents to talk through the ‘things that frighten us’ with children. Hop takes on board her mother's suggestions to ‘deal’ with the wolves, tries to ‘change her dream’ and the wolves in turn escalate their methods of pursuit. .e.g. Helicopters.
It’s an excellent book to keep a child on the edge of their bed throughout, until they finally know that sleep holds no fears for brave rabbits that take charge of their own dreams. For this reader, I found myself wishing that these escalations had ventured a little further into the absurd. Something beyond the helicopters? But perhaps that’s another story?
