The Call of the Wolves

by Jim Murphy, Mark Alan Weatherby (illustrator)

A look at the lives of a small pack of Arctic wolves.

Genres: Animals, Childrens, Picture Books, Wolves

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

An American author of more than 35 nonfiction and fiction books for children, young adults, and general audiences, including more than 30 about American history. He won the Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 2010 for his contribution in writing for teens. Jim lives in Maplewood, New Jersey, in a hundred-year-old house with his wife Alison Blank, a children’s TV producer and children’s book author and editor, his two talented musician sons, a regal mutt, an African water frog that will live forever, and a house vast collection of books..

Reviews

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This beautifully illustrated book traces the often-difficult life of wolves and what happens when a young adult wolf is separated from his pack and the perils he faces on his journey home. Young people interested in animals, nature, and science are an obvious audience. There's enough excitement here to draw in reluctant readers, too.

THE CALL OF THE WOLVES presents wolves as intelligent, social animals--rather than the interchangeable demonic beasts of olden tales. This makes it even more devastating when the pack is disrupted by shots fired from a low-flying aircraft. The text identifies the shooters as "illegal hunters"--but in the years since this book has published, the sport hunting of wolves has expanded to more and more states--not only legal, but openly championed by some state and federal representatives. And aircraft-based "hunting" has gone in and out of legality for years depending upon political whim--infamously, Sarah Palin was a supporter. Perhaps through books like THE CALL OF THE WOLVES will we have new generations who see wolves as valued parts of the ecosystem, not as targets to be exterminated.

[Tyrone Hardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Call of the Wolves” by Jim Murphy and Illustrated by Mark A. Weatherby is absolutely amazing. OMG!OMG!OMG! I could absolutely see the action even without the pictures. I was afraid of the wolf, afraid for the wolf, and happy about the ending. This book is best suited for 4th and 5th graders, but maybe okay for 3rd graders. This book is about the life and death struggle of the member of a wolf pack. This book would be good for science and math as well. There were occasions of keeping count of different pack members, and dealing with seasonal changes. Fantastic book!!!!

[Andrew Ives · Rating 4 out of 5]

(French version) A modern, realistic, beautifully-illustrated tale of a young wolf, living through harsh times in the winter, chasing a herd of caribou, being frightened off by some hunters' rifle shots and making his way back to his own pack. There is a fair amount of well-written, mildly educational text on each page, along with a beautiful painting, which children ought to find entertaining enough. At the end, there are 4 pages of text about the wolf's real-life situation around the world, how they are hunted, misunderstood, deprived of habitat, yet a key part of environmental conservation. This part is probably intended for parents to read and explain to a child, and is very laudable indeed. 4.25/5

[SaraKat · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautiful book! The illustrations are great and the story of the young wolf is harrowing and realistic. The book does have hunters as bad guys, but the story states specifically that they are illegal poachers rather than normal hunters, so there is no demonizing of hunting in general. The slice of life in a wolf pack is great information for students and the extra information in the back is great as well. The information in the back is a little outdated as it speaks of future projects to re-introduce the wolves to areas of the US that have already been completed.

[Christy Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tells the story of a young wolf trying to find his way back to the pack after snow storm and getting hurt because of poachers who tried to kill him and his pack.

I was so glad he got back to his pack in the end. He'd even been hunted by another pack. This definitely is a great read for all alike not just kids.

[Nichole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't skip the author notes. Very interesting.

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

With illustrations of near-photographic quality, this book tells the story of one wolf pack. Living in the arctic this pack follows the caribou herd to its winter pasture. After 8 days the herd comes to rest in a place with plants, trees, and berries. This would be their winter home. Hungry from the long march the wolves scout the herd for easy prey. Just as they are ready to bring down their kill an airplane filled with illegal hunters flies over. Gunshots ring out and the herd scatters. The 2-year-old male goes sailing off a cliff. Relentlessly the hunters go after him. The wolf reaches cover just in time and spends the night resting. A snowstorm blows up as the limping wolf tries to make his way back to his pack. He finds another pack and tries to slink away but the wolves see him and give chase. If they catch him they will kill him. Toward morning he comes to the stream he crossed with his own pack. With the other wolves right behind him he jumps to safety. On the other side the two pups from his own pack see him and charge him gleefully. The pack members greet each other with howls of joy.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

they stay in a pack