WOLF SONG

On a starry night in a secluded spot in the north woods, Nell and her grandfather call to the wolves and the wolf pack sings in return. Bevis tells her story simply, realistically conveying Nell’s initial hesitations, the spooky silence and surprising noises and the excitement of the wolves’s response. She includes other night sounds: the song of a white-throated sparrow and the wail of a loon. The backmatter includes more information about wolves and howling expeditions. Powell has beautifully illustrated this intergenerational experience with double-page spreads, done with scratchboard and watercolor, showing both the wolf pack and the human listeners and their surroundings with accurate detail. The humans are a little stiff; the wolves are the stars here, shown in a wide variety of activities from tumbling with a sibling and chewing an elder’s tail to listening intently and howling. Young readers who have experienced the sense of wonder an owl prowl provides will long to howl themselves. (Picture book. 5-10)