by Rick McIntyre & David A. Poulsen ; illustrated by John Potter ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 16, 2024
Notable for drawing clear parallels between human and lupine behavior without resorting to anthropomorphic devices.
In this young readers’ edition of McIntyre’s Rise of Wolf 8 (2019), Yellowstone wolves grow, play, and adapt to a new environment.
Distilled from the first of a veteran naturalist’s five-volume set of wolf observations, this account profiles several wolves, focusing on two in particular: a small cub designated “Wolf 8” who was one of the first group of wolves brought from Canada to repopulate Yellowstone National Park in 1995, and Wolf 21, who grew up in Wolf 8’s adopted pack and went on to be another pack’s alpha male. Coming in at about a third of the original’s length, the narrative focuses on wolfish behaviors that will seem familiar to young readers—family relations, protective instincts—while keeping references to human presence to a minimum. McIntyre does chime in occasionally with personal reflections, and individual wolves are sometimes hard to keep track of, since they’re all designated by numbers. Still, readers will feel as if they’re watching the games, hunts, and other incidents from within the pack rather than outside. Both wolves are cast in heroic molds as the authors retrace the course of Wolf 8’s unusually long life, from bullied runt to courageous alpha. McIntyre and Poulsen suggest that he was the source not only of Wolf 21’s hunting skills, but also of that leader’s unusual practice of leaving beaten challengers alive. Final art unseen.
Notable for drawing clear parallels between human and lupine behavior without resorting to anthropomorphic devices. (afterword by Potter) (Nonfiction. 10-13)Pub Date: April 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781778400223
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Greystone Kids
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
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by Ken Robbins & illustrated by Ken Robbins ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2001
“In 1875 there were perhaps fifty million of them. Just twenty-five years later nearly every one of them was gone.” The author of many nonfiction books for young people (Bridges; Truck; Giants of the Highways, etc.) tells the story of the American bison, from prehistory, when Bison latifrons walked North America along with the dinosaurs, to the recent past when the Sioux and other plains Indians hunted the familiar bison. Robbins uses historic photographs, etchings, and paintings to show their sad history. To the Native Americans of the plains, the buffalo was central to their way of life. Arriving Europeans, however, hunted for sport, slaughtering thousands for their hides, or to clear the land for the railroad, or farmers. One telling photo shows a man atop a mountain of buffalo skulls. At the very last moment, enough individuals “came to their senses,” and worked to protect the remaining few. Thanks to their efforts, this animal is no longer endangered, but the author sounds a somber note as he concludes: “the millions are gone, and they will never come back.” A familiar story, well-told, and enhanced by the many well-chosen period photographs. (photo credits) (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83025-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2000
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by Meredith Hooper & illustrated by Lucia deLeiris ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2001
Here is an adventure in a unique setting. The lively text and lovely watercolors document three and a half months of a summer the artist and author spent at the South Pole, as part of the National Science Foundation Antarctic Artists & Writers Program. Hooper describes everyday life aboard the research ship Laurence M. Gould, a sturdy orange icebreaker that scientists use to travel between the islands to study the wide variety of animals who come each year to breed and raise their young. An assortment of penguins, elephant seals, giant petrels, huge skuas, and leopard seals hold center stage. Scientists are less important than the serious business of successfully raising young in the short summer season. The author captures the drama of the ice-cold ocean, alive with life: “Swarms of barrel-shaped blue-tinged salps, stuck together in floating chains. Minute creatures with red eyes. Sliding through the water in a curving path like a ribbon.” The artist provides striking paintings of the landscape and the animals in soft washy colors, and quick pencil sketches. The ice is lemon gold with mauve shadows, and the sea a silver gray in the 24-hour day. Animals are expressive and individual. The krill, the tiny shrimp-like creatures that form the backbone of the ocean food chain, appear in luminous glory. The author concludes with a page on global warming, a map of the islands visited, and an index. From cover to cover a personal and informative journey. (Nonfiction. 7-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7922-7188-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2000
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