Cordell, Matthew. Wolf in the Snow. New York, Feiwel and Friends, 2017.
Wolf in the Snow is written and illustrated by Matthew Cordell. It is a 2018 Caldecott Award winning book. It is a story about helping someone who is lost. It is designed for children ages 2 – 6 years.
The book has a prequel showing a girl with her family, including a dog. We also see a pack of wolves. The story begins with the girl walking home from school. We then see the wolf pack walking together. A winter storm kicks in; the girl continues to walk into the wind and snow as do the wolf pack. The wolf pup falls behind the pack and soon is alone. The girl and the wolf pup run into each other. The girl comforts the distraught pup. She hears the pack calling and carries the pup towards that direction. She braves the dangers of the woods to get pup back to his family. She finally meets up with them and delivers their youngest. She starts towards her home and family, but she is lost and tired. She hears her dog calling, “Bark! Bark!” but is unable to make it there. The wolf pack finds her, comforts her, then howls to the girl’s family so they can find her. She gets home safe and sound.
The illustrations in Wolf in the Snow tell the story. The artist communicates the characters’ feelings through their facial expressions (e.g., wide eyes) and body position (e.g., slumped) quite well. He uses different techniques to move the readers through the story. He shows the family through a picture window at the beginning, then moves to full spreads so the readers feel like they’re in the story. The artist uses direction to let us know the two stories will converge. The girl, who is easily detectable in bright red, is moving towards the verso pages; the wolves are heading towards the recto pages. In addition, he uses lines to direct our eyes as in the footprint tracks showing where the girl and pup have been and where they are going. The text is written in different sizes to give a sense of location. The wolves’ howls start off small and increase in size as we move through the book so we know they are getting near. The author includes one word statements to supplement the pictures. The girl trudges through the snow, “huff huff.” The wolf pup whines when he is scared and howls to call for his family. The words “lick-lick” indicate the pup is comforting the girl. The story is told over 46 pages; 22 spreads. The author includes an acknowledgement to Kira Cassidy of the Yellowstone Wolf Project for providing information on wolves and their behavior.
Wolf in the Snow is a good book for a parent or guardian to read with a child one on one or small group. It takes the readers on an emotional journey of kindness and helping.
Book Notes 