Review by Booklist Review
It's pretty amazing how much this charming picture book manages to convey in just over 40 pages. There's a compact history of Yellowstone National Park, told through the evolution of its ecosystem as it transformed during the early twentieth century from a true wilderness to a tourist-friendly theme park. There's an account of the park's wolf population and how farmers and shepherds succeeded in having the predators hunted to extirpation. There are also accessible examples of how the area's food chain was affected and how other plants and animals began to decline. All this information flows effortlessly through brief narrative passages; lyrical rhymes that build through the pages, stanza by stanza, as the rippling effects of the absence of wolves spread farther and farther; and wonderful illustrations, slightly reminiscent of the art of Wanda Gág of Millions of Cats fame. There's also an ongoing conversation between a coyote and a bear as they argue the pros and cons of bringing wolves back to Yellowstone, which finally happened in 1995, leading to a transformation as the ecosystem rediscovered its natural balance. The vintage-looking watercolor and colored-pencil maps and illustrations are delightful, and the text begs to be read aloud. There's also generous back matter for researchers. A truly lovely addition to the Yellowstone wolves canon.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Working in prose, rhyming verse, panel-style art, and sweeping spreads, Parry (A Wolf Called Wander) and Thermes (A Place Called America) tell the absorbing story of what happened when wolf packs were reintroduced into Yellowstone Park. Following introductory pages that detail the park's 1872 creation--including the way "Indigenous Americans, prospectors, trappers, and settlers were removed"--a facsimile of century-old newspaper headlines trumpet that "Yellowstone Park Is Free of Wolves." Rhyming verses jump from the subsequent disappearance of other wildlife to the 1995 reintroduction of wolf packs "to help mend the country/ Where once they did roam." In speech balloons, a coyote worried about the impact of the wolves' diet is reassured by a bear: "They're all elk, all the time." And indeed, the elk, again hunted by wolves, soon leave the streambeds, leading to regrown brush that provides food and shelter, and welcomes multiple species--the newly returned animals are pictured against broad, dramatic mountain vistas in pale blues and golds. Though the myriad storytelling forms don't always cohere, this rare work about successful environmental regeneration reveals how the reintroduction of a predator can rebalance a habitat. Human characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Extensive back matter concludes. Ages 4--8. Author's agent: Fiona Kenshole, Transatlantic Agency. Illustrator's agent: Marietta B. Zacker, Gallt & Zacker Literary. (May)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2--4--The reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park after the animals were hunted almost to the point of extinction is the topic of this intriguing book that combines the story of how the presence or absence of one species can affect an entire ecosystem. From the earliest human inhabitants to the establishment of Yellowstone as the country's first national park in 1872 to modern times, the story follows the effort to first rid the park of wolves, seen as a threat, to the realization that they in fact were important to the delicate balance of both animals and plants. The text, complemented by exceptionally appealing pen and ink illustrations, includes a series of informational panels, a dialogue between a wolf and a coyote who serve as quasi-narrators, and several pages of lyrical rhyming text. Parry makes the complicated subject of a trophic cascade accessible to young readers, though some will find navigating through the many different graphic representations a challenge. Back matter includes a pictorial study of all the animals pictured in the book, a history of wolves in the American west, an artist's note, a glossary, and additional resources. VERDICT A worthy purchase for the animal lovers in the library.--Sue Morgan
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A history of wolves in Yellowstone that offers a salutary lesson in how ecosystem management is no walk in the park. In both cumulative rhyme and a substantial prose afterword, Parry tracks what happened when the wolves of the Yellowstone National Park area were exterminated: "No slap of the beaver, no chirp of the sparrow; / The trees became scarce, and the streams became narrow." When they were reintroduced in the 1990s, the wolves touched off a "trophic cascade" of habitat recovery and increased biodiversity. Thermes, too, goes for a multistranded approach. Maps and historical sidelights ("No Polling Places on Reservation," observes a 1924 newspaper headline) are mixed with views of broad landscapes studded with wildlife. Inset graphic panels feature informative conversations between an anxious coyote and an omnivorous bear: "Mice are tasty." "I love a good moth myself. Pine nuts? Fish? Don't get me started. But wolves? They're all elk, all the time." That's not strictly true, as the author admits, because wolves kill livestock, too (and so do coyotes and bears). Still, "conversations about how to best coexist" are ongoing, as she diplomatically puts it, and the overall benefits of the reintroduction are well documented. The artist appends a labeled gallery of the wild creatures that appear in the pictures, and a note explaining why she chose to portray railroad workers in one 19th-century scene as Chinese (though acknowledging she couldn't confirm that Chinese immigrants built railways in Yellowstone). An illuminating account of a spectacular eco-success story. (glossary, resource lists) (Informational picture book. 7-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
