ALA Booklist (Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 1998)

Howker's simple, eloquent picture book, set in the Yukon Territory, introduces young readers and listeners to the life of a wolf. Poetic, descriptive phrases take us through the majestic arctic landscape and some of the animal's experiences, such as hunting, family life with her pups and mate, and sleeping at the end of a long day. Beautiful, elegant watercolor illustrations accurately portray the icy chill and isolation of the Far North and capture the animals' grace and motion. Peppered among the pictures are little asides of information, offering facts about packs, feeding habits, and the wolf's relation to dogs. Wolves are a fascinating and rare animal, once hunted to near extinction, and the book affords young ones the opportunity to view close-up their beauty and environment and to understand the value of protecting them. (Reviewed March 15, 1998)

Horn Book

Winter is approaching in the Yukon Territory as a female wolf, her mate, and cubs hunt a bull moose with their pack. Prose and expository writing capture the wolf hunt while providing information about the canine family, wolf behavior, family structure, and dietary needs. The realistic watercolor and pencil illustrations express remarkable sensitivity to this often misunderstood animal. Ind.

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

This poetic picture book takes readers into the snowy Yukon Territory, where wolves roam (as they once did throughout the Northern Hemisphere). """"Walk with a wolf in the cold air before sunrise./ She moves, quiet as mist,/ between spruce trees and birches."""" Howker's spare words capture the spartan season in which food is scarce and the landscape barren. Yet, here and there, the narrative blossoms with lovely metaphor and stings with harsh realism: the sky is alive with """"a million gray ice moths""""; when the pack attacks a moose, """"drops of his blood fall like berries to the ground."""" Unobtrusive explanatory notes follow the curves of the illustrations in italics--embellishing spacious white backgrounds with the subtlest shades of gray tints and tan washes. The effect may appear bland to some readers, but elegant to others. Author and artist offer readers a rare and intimate glimpse of a wolf's wintry world. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)