Wolf Pack of the Winisk River- Paul Brown

Wolf Pack of the Winisk River is a most unusual book on several counts. It is written in free verse style and it is written from the viewpoint of a wolf pack. It moves along at a nice pace and integrates many facts about wolf behaviour into the narrative. Wolf is alone after the death of his mate and pups and he himself becomes the enemy of other packs. When he is able to defeat two males from such a pack, he is able to unite with the female and her two pups. We follow their journey as they follow their prey; in particular, the caribou herds. We become aware of their limited interaction with humans and all the animals that cross their paths. We become very much aware of the daily struggle they face just for survival and that it is never ending. We come to admire their courage, tenacity and patience as they eke out an existence. For those young people that enjoy animal stories, this will have some appeal. I hope they don’t set it aside after noting the free verse format, as for many that will be somewhat unfamiliar. This would be a fabulous read-aloud and might welll be integrated into an animal or environment study. I would recommend this for middle years and up.

CM Magazine has written a fine review on this. Check it our here.