Great idea for a book and really well executed. A thoroughly good read. Highly recommended. .

Band on the Run is a sequel, a fact I did not realize until I was nearly finished with the book. Characterization is a bit sparse, but I had attributed that to the age of the intended audience. Even with the short length of this novel, we get a pretty clear picture of the motivations and base personalities of these kids. It's a fun story of imagination and doing things outside your comfort zone.

Wolfie and fly are some of my new favorite characters.

Energetic and amusing - I love that Renata/Wolfie is an introverted character whose introversion is not something the book feels like she needs to be cured of, despite her parents' attitude. Yes, she has moments of comraderie with Fly, but her basic character stays the same. Essentially, Wolfie and Fly is what happens when a cat and dog become unwitting friends. :D

'Wolfie and Fly: Band on the Run' by Cary Fagan with illustrations by Zoe Si is another chapter book adventure with two strange friends with wild imaginations.

Renata "Wolfie" Wolfman is ordered to join the school talent contest. She has no interest, but decides to try to take up dance. She doesn't have the patience, so when her friend Livingston "Fly" Flott shows up at her doorstep with a song he wrote and a plastic guitar, she decides that being in a band with him, while still not a thing she wants to do, is better than her other options. Before long, Wolfie is putting together a drum set of household objects and the two start practicing and imagining what it would be like to be really famous....

I think I liked the first book just a bit more, but these are still pretty likeable characters. Oddball Fly doesn't let anything faze him. Not even comments from Wolfie. She doesn't know it, but he's just the friend she needs. The imagination bits were on full display here and helped Wolfie get over a bit of stage fright. I think that kind of visualization is a good lesson for young performers.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Tundra Books, Penguin Random House Canada, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

Renata Wolfman (AKA Wolfie) is an introvert loner nerd and I adored her! She doesn’t do extra classes like pottery or drama, and detests pink and dressing up, but loves reading about helicopters, alone time and her ‘uniform’ of a white t-shirt, overalls and sneakers. She’s snarky and spends a fair amount of her time (when she’s not involved in something she’s passionate about) underwhelmed.

Wolfie’s next-door neighbour Fly (a much better name than the one his parents gave him - Livingston Flott!) is quite the opposite of Wolfie. Fly is an extrovert, could talk under water and is a bundle of energy and enthusiasm. He also has a limited grasp on boundaries: Wolfie stands by the door telling him he can’t come in so he climbs in the window instead.

Wolfie’s parents are trying to encourage her to get more involved in activities including dance class, during which Wolfie’s ingenuity mixed with her stubborn to make me laugh. Later Fly drops by (through the window) and somehow manages to convince her to become the drummer in his Hokum Street Public School talent show entry.

I loved Wolfie’s character so much and I was really enjoying the story until the imagination sequence, during which the book lost me and I wandered somewhat aimlessly until the end. Wolfie and Fly: Band on the Run is the second book in the series and I confess that I haven’t read the first. Therefore, I may be missing something vital so please don’t let my review dissuade you from giving this series a chance.

On to the section that lost me. Wolfie tells Fly she’s not sure she has an imagination. Fast forward a couple of pages and the imagination sequence begins, and is so real to both kids that they’re shocked when they wind up back in Wolfie’s kitchen once it’s finished. Then there’s an element in the story later that implies the imagination sequence was reality.

Now, I have a lot more imagination than sense and I can suspend my disbelief for all things weird and wacky. However this sequence didn’t seem to fit well with the feel of the rest of the book. It felt off to me and while I was happily immersed from the first page, as soon as the imagination sequence began I found myself surfacing, reading words rather than experiencing an adventure.

I adored Zoe Si’s illustrations. They suited the story and the expressions of Wolfie and Fly worked perfectly given their descriptions. Wolfie’s surly, pouty grimaces were as on point as Fly’s energetic bubble of happy. My favourite illustration was the adorable stuffed toy audience patiently waiting for the performance to begin.

Favourite passage: “Hurray! At last Wolfie had the house to herself. There was nothing she liked better than being alone. Now she could read her book in peace.” (chapter 2). Now that’s a girl I can relate to! 😃

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley (thank you so much to NetGalley and Tundra Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada for the opportunity) in exchange for honest feedback.

The second in the series is just as great and adorable as the first. It's a great choice for readers who are just advancing beyond picture books. The artwork is great. I love the allusions to imagination but how Wolfie refuses to admit that she enjoys It. Overall, again, adorable and definitely a good series that kids and their parents can enjoy.

I would like to thank the publisher, author, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wolfie and Fly by Cary Fagan is a book that I hope will soon become a series. It was a quick, easy read about a child who struggled to find her niche and her parents were always bothering her about it. Wolfie is a child who would much rather sit at home in the comfort of her quiet room than spend time with other children, so she thinks. Enter Fly, her over exuberant, bound and determined neighbor who is certain he is going to convince her to be his friend and perform in the talent show. In the quick story Wolfie discovers her imagination, the joy of friendship and even some new talents.
This is the type of book that will not only appeal to hesitant readers, but also portrays non-typical characters which I love. Even though I was a little hesitant about starting this book, once I did, I couldn't put it down and now can't wait for the next one!

Yay! Wolfie and Fly are back for another adventure.

Wolfie wants to read her books. Fly doesn't want her to. He wants to practice for the talent show, and he won't take no for an answer. And once again, as in the first book, when Wolfie hangs out with Fly, weird things happen. This time, their practice for the talent show gets very real, before a live audience, with news stations, and helicopters, and all sorts of fun.

It's nice, that in this second book, it isn't so much that Wolfie feels pressured to hang out with Fly, but that she figures she will humor him, and that is when the magic happens.

Goofy sort of early reader story that kids should enjoy.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

This could have been better without the magical element that is never explained. And it seems it happened before. I get imagination, but this is something beyond that (given the drumsticks that make a reappearance later). I just didn't think it fit the story that well. Which is a shame as the rest of the story was pretty great.

I loved our down-to-earth Wolfie, or Renata. How she looked at everything without a shred of imagination. It is kind of refreshing to have a character who acts like this and not also be annoying. I loved how she gave Fly a chance, she could have thrown him out of her house, or shouted at him, or be mean at him, but instead she helped him out, instead she participated in that event with him. Which I found so sweet of her. I am not sure if I would have acted the same way if I had such a stalker friend. :P

Fly? Well, I am not too sure what to think of him. On the one side he is sweet and nice, but on the other hand, who the hell climbs into a home through the window when he is clearly told not to come in? Fly just didn't seem to have common sense.
I did like his song, and how he helped out Wolfie.

I am also a bit confused, when the Talent Show starts it says on a sign: Talent Show Tonight! But the talent show starts at 4 in the afternoon. Unless I missed something huge, tonight means evening (or night) and evening doesn't start until 6pm.

The talent show was really fun, I liked reading about the other participants and what act they had.

There are also illustrations and I just ADORED them. The style is just perfection, it is adorable, cute, and fun. I love how the characters were drawn.

All in all, if the imagination or whatever it was part was toned down/explained, it would have been perfect, for now it is just a really good book that I would still recommend.