The Unlikely Hero

March 1, 2024
Grades 3-6 *Starred Review* By 1926, the last of the wolf packs in Yellowstone National Park had been shot and killed by park rangers, but after growing environmental movements, wolves returned in 1995 with the Yellowstone Wolf Reintroduction Project. At the forefront was biologist McIntyre, who became a wolf expert after studying them for more than 40 years. This young readers' edition of McIntyre's The Rise of Wolf 8 (2019) is also the first book in an exciting new series that will follow these early wolf generations. The focus is on a family of wolves relocated from Alberta, Canada, specifically the wolf identified as 8, a runt that stands out due to his smaller size and gray coat within his black-furred family. Dramatic chapters trace 8's days as a bullied pup through his growth into adulthood, in which he finds a mate, adopts her pups, and becomes the alpha male of a new pack. Action-packed scenes highlight such social behaviors as playing, recognizing the pack hierarchy, and hunting larger prey like elk and even bison. The introduction of 8's adopted male pup heightens the tension as their paths cross later as adult rivals. McIntyre periodically interrupts the narrative to let readers know what the wolves may be thinking and feeling based on their body language and sounds. An insightful and moving look at these once-misunderstood animals.

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April 1, 2024
In this young readers' edition of McIntyre's Rise of Wolf 8 (2019), Yellowstone wolves grow, play, and adapt to a new environment. Distilled from the first of a veteran naturalist's five-volume set of wolf observations, this account profiles several wolves, focusing on two in particular: a small cub designated "Wolf 8" who was one of the first group of wolves brought from Canada to repopulate Yellowstone National Park in 1995, and Wolf 21, who grew up in Wolf 8's adopted pack and went on to be another pack's alpha male. Coming in at about a third of the original's length, the narrative focuses on wolfish behaviors that will seem familiar to young readers--family relations, protective instincts--while keeping references to human presence to a minimum. McIntyre does chime in occasionally with personal reflections, and individual wolves are sometimes hard to keep track of, since they're all designated by numbers. Still, readers will feel as if they're watching the games, hunts, and other incidents from within the pack rather than outside. Both wolves are cast in heroic molds as the authors retrace the course of Wolf 8's unusually long life, from bullied runt to courageous alpha. McIntyre and Poulsen suggest that he was the source not only of Wolf 21's hunting skills, but also of that leader's unusual practice of leaving beaten challengers alive. Final art unseen. Notable for drawing clear parallels between human and lupine behavior without resorting to anthropomorphic devices. (afterword by Potter) (Nonfiction. 10-13)

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