WOLF CAMP

In a droll and very sparely told tale young Maddie comes home from a summer’s spell at Wolf Camp with leaves in her hair, a tendency to howl at sirens and a decided preference for meat—plus the odd grasshopper—over other foods. As Maddie slowly reverts to more human behavior (except for the habit of scratching her head with a foot) her bemused parents look on, and then after her departure for Bear Camp the following summer they stock up on honey and live salmon in preparation for her return. Heightening the tongue-in-cheek tone, Leick’s smoothly finished illustrations depict Maddie’s unselfconscious antics at home and in the wild with matter-of-fact realism. Children may find the whole episode exaggerated and unlikely; parents, particularly those who send their cubs off to summer camp, might have the opposite reaction. (Picture book. 7-9)