Like all books, picture books are a vehicle of communication, narrative, information and emotions. Because of the adaptability of the picture-book genre, which communicates using both verbal and visual language systems, it is sometimes possible for authors and illustrators to challenge the underlying precepts of the role of language in the communication process.

This is especially the case in picture books for older readers. Woolvs in the Sitee, by Margaret Wild and Anne Spudvilas (Viking, $26.95 hb, 32 pp), definitely presents such a challenge. Innovative, intriguing and potentially controversial, this book contains everything that a good picture book should possess – except correct spelling. But that is part of its appeal and a large part of the reason why Wild’s text communicates so effectively. Like Mark Haddon in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (2003), Wild has created a convincing voice, getting inside the head of her teenage protagonist, Ben, in such a way that she uncompromisingly communicates his innermost thoughts and feelings. She does this using the phonetic spelling, awkward grammatical constructs and made-up words of an undereducated, or perhaps dyslexic, teenager. However, like the ever-evolving language of SMS and e-mails, Ben has no trouble communicating.