THE WAY HOME FOR WOLF

A wolf pup gets help from other animals to find his way home.

Rhyming text, which at times falters in its cadence, tells the story of Wilf, a wolf pup separated from his pack during a blizzard. His situation worsens when the ice beneath him cracks and he plunges down into cold, Arctic waters. A narwhal saves him, and thus begins a series of fortunate events in which different animals help Wilf reunite with his pack. First a walrus, then a musk ox, an arctic fox, a goose, a moose, and finally a bear-moth help him along the way. The storytelling itself fits squarely into the well-trod home-away-home plotline, and it doesn’t offer much for readers to sink their teeth into. The detailed, cartoony art would be right at home in contemporary animation for the big screen, adding visual interest in several spreads. Wilf’s big, blue eyes herald his vulnerability on many spreads, but unfortunately, some nighttime scenes will be far too dark for readers’ eyes, and the print is at times difficult to discern on pages where the print is blue on black.

An uneven package that may leave readers a bit cold.