Starred Review ALA Booklist (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Starred Review 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. It's a compelling accompaniment to the rigorous science in Barr's text (longer than what you typically find in a picture book), which addresses the state of the ecosystem before the wolves returned, tensions with area ranchers who objected to the initiative, the slow process of getting the 14 wolves acclimated to the park, and the gradual but steady recovery of a healthy and balanced ecosystem once the wolves were reintroduced. Beyond the immediate benefits of, for instance, elk-population control, the wolves' presence in the park led to renewed biodiversity across the board, as well as some surprising results, like stabilized riverbanks. Richly detailed back matter includes the ultimate fate of the original 14 wolves brought to the park, a succinct chart explaining trophic cascade, and information about other rewilding efforts across the globe. The book ends on a note about continued resistance to rewilding efforts, emphasizing the role human communities have in maintaining healthy ecosystems. This captivating, illuminating exploration of rewilding is dense with science and reassuring in its message that unbalanced ecosystems can be repaired with thoughtful, sustained policy changes.

Horn Book (Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Today in the wild expanses of Yellowstone National Park, wolves roam freely. This was not the case for most of the twentieth century, as wolves there were hunted out of existence by 1926. In 1995, through the efforts of scientists (opposed by some ranchers and hunters), fourteen wolves were reintroduced, and they survived to produce today's flourishing population. Barr splits her informative tale into two parts: first, the conservation story of how the wolves were brought from Canada, including details about wolf life cycles throughout the seasons. As the wolf population increased, the packs gradually spread out through the park and established hunting grounds in their territories. 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. In the second half, Barr illustrates the effects of the wolves return on the entire ecosystem (a graphic in the endpapers compactly diagrams this concept of trophic cascade). Barr includes not just the main food chains but the full range of ecological impacts: insects, grasses, trees, even the water levels and paths of rivers change in response. The final pages include profiles of the fourteen original wolves and examples of other human interventions to reintroduce species affected by human activity.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

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.)

School Library Journal (Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 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