Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature)
Wally and Willy, the Bad Boy wolves. return with “two big bad sweet tooths” so bad that they eagerly volunteer to be detectives on the case of the elusive escaping Cookie, an obvious relative of the Gingerbread Man. Cookie’s repeated refrain is: “Na-na-ni-na-na! Lookie! Lookie! You can’t get me. I’m one smart cookie!” The Bad Boys have problems with all their carefully laid plans to catch him. But when not-so-smart Cookie floats away on a log that is really an alligator or crocodile, the boys are still hungry. Still dressed as Hansel and Gretel from one of their unsuccessful plots, they accept the invitation of an old woman to eat at her house, which looks suspiciously like a famous gingerbread creation. We leave those “really, really bad” boys near her oven, speculating on their fate. Cole’s vignette and double-page ink and watercolor illustrations are comic, with some slapstick actions and exaggerated gestures. Some text phrases use large type, adding a visual lilt to the repeated refrains, or an aggressive “Peeeuuew!” at a skunk’s defense. Only minimal settings are needed to support the fun. 2006, Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins Publishers, $16.99. Ages 4 to 8.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2006 (Vol. 74, No. 16))
Palatini riffs on the Gingerbread Man and Hansel and Gretel stories in this return of her two bad boy wolves. Willy and Wally, aching to satisfy their sweet tooth, chase after a smart little cookie that has escaped from the bakery ("I'm afraid I added too much spice," moans the baker). Needless to say, Willy and Wally, despite being wolves, are outfoxed by the demon cookie even when they are dressed as Hansel and Gretel. There is a lot of good badinage between Willy and Wally, with their knowing exchanges, but some of that humor may be lost on younger readers, who may also be confused as to why honey-laid out as a trap by the wolves-would make the cookie slip and slide. Yet these lapses are smoothed over by Cole's merry, slapstick art. Never has a runaway cookie been so annoying looking, and never did Hansel and Gretel observe with such longing the witch's derriere. Yes, they are "Bad. Bad. Really, really bad" in all senses of the word. 2006, HarperCollins, 32p, $16.99. Category: Picture book. Ages 4 to 7. © 2006 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sheila Fox (Kutztown Book Review, Fall 2007)
Margie Palatini and Henry Cole team up again for another adventure to “Bad Boys” (2003). Willy and Wally, who love to eat sweets, continue to be bad. They disguise themselves as private detectives to capture the baker’s runaway gingerbread cookie. Their attempts continue to fail including a problem with a reptile, so they discover a new way to get a treat at the end of the story. This follow-up tale would be a wonderful read aloud. It’s full of fun-filled adventure, which includes some fairy tale features from the beginning to the end. One drawback was when they arrived at the river and the cookie begins to cross some lily pads. Then it’s on an alligator’s back but it didn’t show the cookie getting eaten by the alligator. The illustrations are bright and colorful. Possible curricular uses would be to compare and contrast it to other Gingerbread Men stories. Category: Picture Book. 2006, Harper Collins:, $16.99. Ages 5 to 9.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2007)
Hankering to satisfy their sweet tooths, Willy and Wally Wolf conspire to chase down Mr. Baker's runaway gingerbread cookie. Scheme after scheme fails, and they give up and set their sights on a gingerbread house instead. Palatini humorously incorporates details from familiar fairy tales, and Cole's cartoon-style illustrations capture the silliness of the Bad Boys' second adventure. Category: Picture Books. 2006, HarperCollins/Tegen, 32pp, 16.99, 17.89. Ages 4 to 9. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.