Walk with a Wolf - Softcover

Janni Howker has won many awards for her work. Badger on the Barge, her first book, won the International Reading Association Children's Book Award, as well as being Commended for the Whitbread Award and shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. It is now a set book for Key Stage 3 of the National Curriculum. Another of her books, The Nature of the Beast was made into a major feature film shown in cinemas and on TV. She lives in Cumbria with her husband, their son and a variety of animals. Sarah Fox-Davies was born in London in 1956, and studied at Hornsey and Croydon Colleges of Art, before taking a four-year course in Graphic Design and Illustration. Focussing on illustrating animals in their natural environments (bats, beavers, bears, cats, wolves and even a caribou), Sarah also has a particular interest in natural history, and has contributed illustrations to a number of field guides and gardening books. She now lives in Wales.

Kindergarten-Grade 3?"Walk with a wolf" in this handsome pictorial nature story as she joins her family pack. Children follow along as the members of the group stalk an old, lame bull moose and sleep through a Yukon blizzard (with the female dreaming of spring and new pups). Interspersed with the simply written story (set in a large font with ample spacing) are italicized snippets of factual information on lupine behavior. Readers may also derive pleasure from using the brief index to pinpoint areas of interest. The extremely attractive watercolors are realistic and eye-catching, and the illustrator has scrupulously avoided gory depictions (though the text mentions "Drops of his blood...like berries"), leaving to readers' imaginations the grosser aspects of obtaining fresh meat. The slight anthropomorphism of lupine dreams does not detract from the visual beauty of the book, nor from its informative qualities, and it should find an audience among younger readers and listeners who enjoy exploring the natural world. Pair it with Jean Craighead George's attractive Look to the North (HarperCollins, 1997) for an excellent picture of these dramatic predators.?Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
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