The Big Bad Wolf

by Michaelbrent Collings

Overview

Jake and Willow return to the fairy-tale realm of Grimmworld to look for their missing father, only to find themselves battling the Big Bad Wolf in a world on the brink of war. 

Willow and Jake have done the impossible and brought the first “happily ever after” to Grimmworld. But in the real world, their father is still missing, and the boundary between universes has grown even more fragile.

Determined to reunite their fractured family, the twins return to Grimmworld, only to be captured by fairies and forced to make an impossible choice: Steal the Wolf King’s gold claw and return it to the fairy queen in exchange for information about their father, or refuse and become the fairies’ eternal, soulless slaves.

But to steal the claw, Jake and Willow will have to undergo the Wolf Trials, a perilous series of tests and traps that will push the twins to their limits and beyond. It will take Willow’s strength, Jake’s intellect, and the love and friendship they share—and maybe a few treats from Red Riding Hood’s magical basket—to defeat the Big Bad Wolf, find the next clue to their father’s whereabouts, and perhaps even bring another “happily ever after” to Grimmworld. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781639933808
Publisher:	Shadow Mountain Publishing
Publication date:	03/11/2025
Series:	Grimmworld , #2
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.70(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

About the Author

Michaelbrent Collings is an internationally bestselling novelist, produced screenwriter, and speaker. He regularly speaks at schools across the nation and reminds kids of the power of hope, kindness, and teamwork to overcome challenges.
 
Michaelbrent has also received critical acclaim: he is the only person who has ever been a finalist for a Bram Stoker Award (twice), a Dragon Award (twice), and a RONE Award, and he and his work have been reviewed or featured on everything from Publishers Weekly to Scream Magazine to NPR.
 
An engaging and entertaining speaker, he is also a frequent guest at comic cons and on writing podcasts like Six Figure Authors, The Creative Penn, Writing Excuses, and others, and is a mental health advocate, TEDx speaker, and the creator of the writing instruction platform Bestseller Life.

Editorial Reviews

2024-12-14
Eleven-year-old twins Willow and Jake return to Grimmworld, a bleak universe where fairy-tale tropes are recycled and have unhappy endings.

After wrenching a happy-ish conclusion from their first foray,The Witch in the Woods (2024), the siblings arrive home to discover their father has disappeared, and only they remember that he ever existed. Jake grows angry and rebellious, while Willow becomes inwardly resentful; their differing responses threaten their epic closeness. After suddenly being transported back to Grimmworld, they meet another sibling pair, Rot and her brother, Ruin, whose story bears echoes of “Little Red Riding Hood.” They all team up on a quest to find Rot and Ruin’s grandmother, who may be able to locate the twins’ father. The second half of the book details a contest with the society of Wolfs, which doubles as an indictment of selfish, autocratic leadership. As before, the rules of Grimmworld appear haphazard and changeable, an inconsistency that makes what could have been fun reveals instead feel contrived. Surviving the perils of Grimmworld restores Willow and Jake’s strong relationship, and the story’s end sets up for a hazardous mission to come in the third series entry. Human characters largely present white.

Further adventures in a fantasy realm whose worldbuilding is more convoluted than enchanting. (author’s note, reading guide and discussion questions)(Fantasy. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews