Since it’s Werewolf Month, I thought there might be some werewolf fans hanging around who might be able to help answer this question we recently received from Angela about a werewolf anthology she read some time ago. She remembers the stories in detail, but not the name of the book. With so many details, I’m hoping someone here will be able to identify the book, or at the very least, some of the stories. Since the stories all have children in them, I’m guessing it may be a young adult book. Post below if you think you recognize this as-yet-unnamed werewolf anthology, and help a reader out.

Angela writes:

Just curious, and this is a very long shot… I stumbled upon your
website while looking for a particular book on short stories of
werewolves. I am hoping I can describe some of the stories (that I can
remember) and perhaps you may have heard of them
and possibly steer me in the right direction on finding a title for this
particular book or the title of the stories..

First off, this book is well over 15 years old, 1990s.. somewhere,
possibly earlier. Contained some short stories, some were pretty well
written, here is some of what I can remember:

1st story:

There was a carnival, a child had earned enough money to visit a vendor,
he was last in line, so he got what was left.. a wolf pelt. A girl in
front of him mocked him, she had the vampire outfit.
The instructions to him were: put on the wolf pelt, then put the head on
after the lights turned off. He did as he was instructed, the wolf pelt
closed, and he ran through the forest to chase the moon. He stole
the wolf pelt because he did not want to give up the feeling.

2nd story:

A wolf pack and a son. The son was an outcast of sorts, his father had
run off. Some nights, he would wake up to see a strange man with his
mother downstairs talking. Later, the mother dies and he is sent to
live with another family. He is accused of witchcraft and locked in a box of some sorts. A wolf digs him out and takes him to the pack. His father is the Alpha male
and explains that all wolf packs need a human leader to help them avoid
the humans in general. The father is dying and needs to pass on this gift / curse so that the pack may live. The son accepts.

3rd story:

A boy on a crusade has the curse, seeks to rid the curse, follows the
crusade across a huge distance to find salvation (cant remember all
details of this one, but I remember it was particularly good and a
little bit religious).

4th story:

Werewolf and Puck. Werewolf is lonely, steals a 2 year old child, gives
to the lonely werewolf. Puck runs off, leaving the child in the
werewolf’s care against the werewolf’s wishes. The werewolf comes to
love the child and protects it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Well? Anybody recognize this book? 

(I’d like to thank Sarah Wendell and her HaBO feature at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books for inspiration).