The Wolves of Yellowstone: A Rewilding Story

by Catherine Barr

Overview

Here is the fascinating true story of the wolves who restored the ecosystem at Yellowstone National Park, written by Catherine Barr and illustrated by award-winner Jenni Desmond.

In the 1930s, the last wolves disappeared from Yellowstone National Park.

Without them, elk herds overran the plains. Bears starved, rabbit families shrunk, and birds flew away to new homes. Then plants and trees started to die off, too-even the flow of rivers was affected.

Could the park be saved . . . by the wolves it had lost?

After years of planning, in 1995 a team of experts was ready to find out. They carefully relocated fourteen wolves from the Canadian Rockies to Yellowstone. This is the story of their homecoming.

Engaging, informative, and hopeful, The Wolves of Yellowstone shows us that every creature plays a role in sustaining a thriving ecosystem.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781547607983
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	04/05/2022
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	499,993
Product dimensions:	12.00(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

After campaigning with Greenpeace for years, Catherine Barr trained as a journalist and became an editor at the Natural History Museum. Catherine writes non-fiction books that aim to inspire children to explore, understand and take action to protect the natural world. Catherine's first book, The Story of Life, was shortlisted for The English Association Picture Book Award and long listed for the School Library Association Information Book Awards in 2016. She is a proud Patron of Reading for a local school and visits schools all over the country to run workshops inspired by her books.

Jenni Desmond is an artist, illustrator and award-winning picture book maker. She is the illustrator or author/illustrator of numerous books including Wolves of Yellowstone, The Polar Bear, Migration, and Albert's Tree. Her books have been featured as a best book of the year in The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, The Guardian, Huffington Post, Brainpickings, and Washington Post among others. Jenni lives in east London UK with her husband who is an architect and their daughter. When she's not in her studio, you'll find her covered in mud and plants in the garden, cycling her bike around and swapping city life for hikes down by the sea shore or up in the hills and the mountains.

Editorial Reviews

05/16/2022

Barr and Desmond deliver a visually striking account of the 1995 reintroduction of 14 gray wolves from Canada to Yellowstone National Park, after more than 60 years without wolves’ presence. Divvied into three parts and myriad subsections, the book contextualizes the hunting of wolves before moving into a chronological close-up of the reintroduced wolves’ first year; following sections detail the positive impact of the wolves’ reintroduction on a host of other species. Wildlife-abundant watercolors and labeled vignettes that use straightforward prose combine to give this natural history narrative a nature journal’s feel, as in a spread that shows a pack’s takedown of a young elk: “The wolves’ powerful chests slice through snow as they bound nose-to-tail.” An excellent resource for teaching about the interrelatedness of ecosystems and keystone species, the volume concludes with a graphic that explains how this apex predator restored and maintains a balanced ecosystem, and presents other examples of rewilding experiments around the globe. Ages 5–8. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

A rich nonfiction picture book that perfectly highlights the interconnectedness of the natural world . . . . Any lover of nature and science should find plenty to absorb within.” —Shelf Awareness

“Artful writing and comprehensive research combine in this wide-ranging, lyrical picture book about returning wolves to the Yellowstone ecosystem. Desmond's soft but poignant illustrations set a strong tone, with soulful portraits of individual wolves, vast landscapes of mountains and meadows, and scenes of wolves ranging through the habitat.” —Booklist, starred review

“[A] remarkable story . . . illustrated with understated elegance.” —Wall Street Journal

"Wildlife-abundant watercolors and labeled vignettes that use straightforward prose combine to give this natural history narrative a nature journal’s feel. . . . An excellent resource for teaching about the interrelatedness of ecosystems and keystone species." - Publishers Weekly

“The book is brilliantly illustrated with detailed watercolor pictures. Descriptions draw readers into the setting, where they will learn all about the biodiversity of Yellowstone National Park and what scientists have learned about the ecosystem.” —School Library Journal

“Desmond's graceful watercolors of the animals in summer and winter landscapes give a sense of the breadth and diversity of nature in the protected spaces of the American West.” —The Horn Book

“Compelling and visually exciting . . . Beautiful watercolor illustrations are as mesmerizing as the fact-filled and dramatic narration.” —School Library Connection

From the Publisher

04/01/2022

Gr 3 Up—Barr's book takes on the dramatic story of the wolf packs in Yellowstone National Park. The book gives a detailed account of how the wolves were killed to near extinction in the park, the repercussions in the ecosystem of the park, how the wolves were reintroduced, and finally how the park benefitted from that. Barr describes the conflict between conservationists and those who live around the park, and includes information on other endangered species around the world that were brought back from extinction by similar reintroduction efforts. The book is brilliantly illustrated with detailed watercolor pictures. Descriptions draw readers into the setting, where they will learn all about the biodiversity of Yellowstone National Park and what scientists have learned about the ecosystem. VERDICT With eye-catching pictures and easy-to-read language, this is a great addition to the shelves.—Dorinda Brown

School Library Journal