WOLF ISLAND

The lives of wolves on an island in the Great Bear Rainforest, with photos from a renowned conservationist.

McAllister’s on-location photos of wolves prowling, howling, and, occasionally, chowing down in verdant surroundings add suitably wild notes to the even-toned, only slightly fictionalized commentary. Noting that the Great Bear’s wolves spend so much time in the water that they could be thought of as marine mammals, the text follows one lone wolf that comes ashore on an unnamed island, finds food and, later, a mate, and raises a “proper family.” Though there’s an anthropomorphic tinge to concluding lines about how the wolf “had the satisfaction of knowing he’d done everything he set out to do,” and “knew the island was a place of wonder,” the animals here aren’t endowed with names, specific experiences, or other invented trappings; the story is really told by the big, bright, pictures—which glow with the rhythms and beauties of this remote habitat. Readers who want to know more after this about the Great Bear’s distinctive wolf clans will find the same authors’ Sea Wolves (2010) a treasure.

Enthralling fare for budding naturalists.