Lone Wolf (Wolves of the Beyond Series #1)

by Kathryn Lasky

Overview

From bestselling author Katherine Lasky comes the first book in WOLVES OF THE BEYOND, a stunning new spinoff from her legendary owl series, Guardians of Ga'hoole.A wolf mother has given birth, but the warm bundle snuffling next to her brings only anguish. The pup, otherwise healthy, has a twisted leg, and the mother knows what the harsh code of the pack demands. Her pup will be taken from her and abandoned on a desolate hill. The pack cannot have weakness - the wolf mother knows that her pup is condemned to die.But alone in the wilderness, the pup, Faolan, does not perish. This his story - a story of survival, of courage, and of love triumphant. This is Faolan's story, the wolf pup who rose up to change forevever the Wolves of the Beyond.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545283298
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	07/01/2010
Series:	Wolves of the Beyond Series , #1
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	486,682
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Kathryn Lasky is the Newbery Honor-winning author of over 100 books for children and young adults. Her beloved Guardians of Ga'Hoole fantasy series has more than seven million copies in print, and she is the author of the Daughters of the Sea series and the Wolves of the Beyond series, as well as A Time for Courage and other Dear America titles. Kathryn has also written a number of critically acclaimed historical fiction titles, such as Beyond the Burning Time and True North. She lives with her husband in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Editorial Reviews

Lasky spins off her popular Guardians of Ga'Hoole series into this enchanting first installment of a new series starring wolves, introducing a wolf pup raised by a grizzly bear. The pack casts Faolan, born with a defect in one paw, out to die, but a brokenhearted bear that has just lost her own cub finds him and can't resist nursing him. Lasky merges anthropomorphic fantasy with realistic details about wolves and bears to produce an almost plausible emotional narrative, complete with dialogue and personalities. Thunderheart, Faolan's "milk mother," teaches him to dig and to hunt and explains the bear aspects of the spirit world. Eventually Faolan begins a journey taking him to a cave where he learns the history of the wolves, to a metal-working owl and finally to the wolf clan he will join, although not, perhaps, in the manner those wolves expect. The author builds a captivating world of forest, snow and volcanoes populated by intelligent animals and weaves a compelling story sure to bring readers back for the second installment. (Fantasy. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews

Praise for the first book in the Wolves of the Beyond series."This is a soulful, searching read consumed with the spiritual journeys of animals and the ethereal connection between slayer and slain. [W]ith an invigorating ending that bodes well for the next volume." - Booklist"The author builds a captivating world of forest, snow and volcanoes populated by intelligent animals and weaves a compelling story sure to bring readers back for the second installment." - Kirkus

From the Publisher

Gr 4–7—A wolf pup is left to die by his pack because his malformed foot is considered bad luck. A grizzly bear, Thunderheart, whose cubs have been killed, rescues Faolan and nurtures him until her accidental death. As the young wolf continues on alone, he discovers "the Cave Before Time" with wall paintings portraying the history of the wolves and realizes that he must return to his own kind and learn their ways. This anthropomorphic fantasy has a number of the traditional characters found in these tales, such as the young outcast Faolan; the wise and solitary Gwynneth, the owl; and the powerfully maternal Thunderheart. The relationship between the wolf and the bear is particularly touching as they develop a strong and loving bond. After her death, the story meanders a bit as Faolan deciphers the message in the cave. As it ends, enough questions remain about his future to leave room for a sequel. Those who enjoy this genre will probably be intrigued enough by this young wolf to tag along on his journey.—Carol Schene, formerly at Taunton Public Schools, MA

School Library Journal

Erik Davies seems to be confiding secrets to the listener in his intimate reading of LONE WOLF, the first entry in Lasky’s new series. Her popular GUARDIANS OF GA’HOOLE series, featuring owls, got the big-screen 3-D treatment just this fall. Davies brings a skillful storyteller's appeal to this tale of a wolf cub raised by a grizzly bear and befriended by (what else?) an owl. But the work itself is an oddly flat introduction, almost like a book-long prologue meant to fill in the story’s mythos and history before actually getting to the fun stuff. It's hard not to wish, after the pup Faolon's early escape from death, that this wolf with a twisted paw would stop chasing his philosophical tail and get on with it. M.M.C. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2010 - AudioFile