Price: $9.99 - $7.69
(as of Jan 02, 2025 07:03:04 UTC – Details)
The thrilling Newbery Medal–winning classic about a girl lost on the Alaskan tundra and how she survives with the help of a wolf pack.
Julie of the Wolves is a staple in the canon of children’s literature and the first in the Julie trilogy. The survival theme makes it a good pick for readers of wilderness adventures such as My Side of the Mountain, Hatchet, or Island of the Blue Dolphins.
This edition, perfect for classroom or home use, includes John Schoenherr’s original scratchboard illustrations throughout, as well as bonus materials such as an introduction written by Jean Craighead George’s children, the author’s Newbery acceptance speech, selections from her field notebooks, a discussion guide, and a further reading guide.
To her small village, she is known as Miyax; to her friend in San Francisco, she is Julie. When her life in the village becomes dangerous, Miyax runs away, only to find herself lost in the Alaskan wilderness.
Miyax tries to survive by copying the ways of a pack of wolves and soon grows to love her new wolf family. Life in the wilderness is a struggle, but when she finds her way back to civilization, Miyax is torn between her old and new lives. Is she the Miyax of her human village—or Julie of the wolves?
Don’t miss any of the books in Jean Craighead George’s groundbreaking series: Julie of the Wolves, Julie, and Julie’s Wolf Pack.
From the Publisher
Jean Craighead George’s Newbery acceptance speech
In Mount McKinley National Park we found Gordon Haber cutting wood beside his cabin at Sanctuary River. Jays sang around him, and ground squirrels watched him, for Gordon was part of the ecology. He had spent three summers with the wolves and was preparing for his second winter. When I explained that I was in Alaska to write about wolves, he took Luke and me to watch a pack at their summer den.
For ten days we lay on our bellies, peering through a spotting scope and binoculars at these remarkable beasts. We saw the black alpha awaken, saw his pack nuzzle him under the chin ceremoniously, heard him open the hunt song with a solo. When all were alert, he would swing through the willows, his huntsmen at his heels, to test their crop of moose and caribou for harvesting. We never witnessed a kill, but we saw the ravens hover over kills and the hunters return home as fat as barrels to regurgitate food for their pups. We watched the puppies play bone ball, tug o’war, ‘jump on the babysitter’; and we became wholly involved in wolves. Luke, who had come to Alaska to fish, never strung up his rod again.
One dawn we joined Haber on a trip to the deserted nursery den of his pack. We hiked through bog, sphagnum moss, and over the tundra to a remote valley. Pushing our way through tangled willows, we climbed to a bluff high above the river. There in a layer of white sand was the birthing den, a generous tunnel dug into the earth. It was topped with flowers and set beneath a small garden of twisted spruce. The entire home expressed family love. A play yard was worn in front of the den. Around it were the large saucer-like beds of adults. I could envision them watching the tumbling pups, grins on their faces.
Most heartwarming, however, was a shaft that led straight down to the nursery chamber. It was a sort of telephone. During the first few weeks after birthing when the female remains in the den with the pups, the other adults stand over this hole and listen to the sounds from the den below: whimpers, sucking sounds, the contented grunts of happy puppies. When an adult wags his tail, he says, “all is well”; and the other wolves wag their tails, too.
Just before leaving the den site, I sat down beside the entrance and scanned the wide valley. I wanted to see the rocks and mountains as the wolf sees them. I looked down, and my blood turned to ice. There below was an enormous grizzly, head down, fur swinging as he came down our trail. Instinct warned me to stand still, but reason told Gordon to act. He wanted us ahead of the bear so that we would not meet him face to face when he turned around to go home. “Run!” Haber said. Luke shot off like a prong-horn antelope; Gordon like a deer. I ran as if I were weighted down with lead, but I must have been zooming. As I leaped down a frost heave, I passed a jay in flight.
When we were safely ahead of the bear, we heard a wild sound as if an orchestra were tuning up. I looked back. On the top of the hill stood the female wolf and her nine fat puppies, who bounded forward to greet us. One yip from their mother, and all the pups vanished. If there was any doubt in my mind that wolves speak to each other, it was banished in that moment.
Publisher : HarperCollins; Illustrated edition (July 2, 2019)
Language : English
Paperback : 176 pages
ISBN-10 : 0064400581
ISBN-13 : 978-0064400589
Reading age : 8 – 12 years
Lexile measure : 860L
Grade level : 8 – 6
Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
Dimensions : 5.12 x 0.45 x 7.62 inches
Customers say
Customers find the story engaging and interesting. They describe it as a delightful children’s book suitable for both boys and girls from 4th to 6th grade. The adventure content is appreciated by nature enthusiasts, with wonderful wilderness scenes and an empathetic hero. Readers feel the book touches their hearts and souls, inspiring joy and sadness. They appreciate the simple storytelling and beautiful prose.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
