Children's Pick: The Way Home for Wolf

The Way Home for Wolf
by Rachel Bright
Illustrations by Jim Field
Scholastic Press
2020
32 pages
ISBN: 9781338592740

Little wolf cub Wilf is a tough little guy who is as stubborn as the day is long. He wants to be a big wolf, strong and proud, and lead the pack, but others tell him he's too little. Longing to prove himself, he sets out strong and tough with the others, but he struggles to keep as they leave their old home. A blizzard separates him from the pack, and he's all alone and afraid. He falls through the ice into freezing water and is rescued by a sea unicorn who gets him to his next guide-helper: a giant walrus. With help from a string of polite strangers, Wilf is reunited with his pack. Wilf vows to help any stranger find their way back home, and the final page says it best, "...We're all just a handful of friendships from home."

A book about caring for others and guiding those who are lost is a lovely addition to children's lit. Beautiful and sensitive illustrations capture Wilf's fear and desperation when lost and his happiness and love when reunited with his family. The Way Home for Wolf will be in the mix for multiple awards for children's books and will be on the Scholastic book fair this year.

Highly recommended for early readers. A touching bedtime story.

Tween Pick

Nature Girl
by Jane Kelley
Random House, 2010
236 pages

What to read when a girl is too young for Twilight and other YA chick lit? This is novel is a great find! Excellent for the tween set grades 4-7. Megan is stuck in Vermont MILES from civilization with her artsy back-to-the-earth parents and annoying older sister without t.v., Internet, or cell phones. They are supposed to be getting in touch with nature and having artistic time each morning, but Megan just misses civilization and her best friend Lucy. She longs for New York City and crowds.

After getting lost on the Appalacian Trail with only her mother's fluffy little dog Arp for company, city girl Megan decides she might as well hike into the next state and try to find Lucy. After spending several nights in the woods and putting up with hunger, fear, and the cold, Megan decides maybe nature isn't so bad after all.

Megan is sarcastic and fun and not at all a woodsy girl or the outdoor type which is what makes the book humorous. Tween girls will like this one. Not to be missed.

Highly, highly recommended grades 4-7.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I bought this book for my library. I received no monetary compensation for this review.