Old Wolf

by Avi, Brian Floca (Illustrator)

Overview

Hunting—the predator and its prey—is at the heart of this riveting and suspenseful novel from Newbery Medalist Avi with illustrations from Caldecott Medalist Brian Floca.

In the computer game world of Bow Hunter—thirteen-year-old Casey’s world—there are no deaths, just kills. In Nashoba’s world—the wolf world—there have been no kills. For this is March, the Starving Time in the Iron Mountain region of Colorado, when wolves and ravens alike are desperate for food.

With the help of a raven, the miraculous Merla, Nashoba must lead his pack of eight to their next meal. The wolf hates being dependent on a mere bird, but Merla is a bird wise beyond her years.

When Casey’s path crosses Nashoba’s, the worlds of two very different hunters collide.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442499225
Publisher:	Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	08/02/2016
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	350,694
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	630L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Avi is the author of more than seventy books for children and young adults, including the 2003 Newbery medal winner Crispin: The Cross of Lead. He has won two Newbery Honors and many other awards for his fiction. He lives with his family in Denver, Colorado. Visit him at Avi-Writer.com.

Brian Floca is the author and illustrator of the acclaimed picture books Locomotive, winner of the Caldecott Medal and a New York Times bestseller; Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11; and Lightship, each a Robert F. Sibert Honor Book. He is the illustrator of numerous additional books, including Avi’s Poppy series. You can visit him online at BrianFloca.com.

Date of Birth:

December 23, 1937

Place of Birth:

New York, New York

Education:

University of Wisconsin; M.A. in Library Science from Columbia University, 1964

Website:

http://www.avi-writer.com

Read an Excerpt

Old Wolf
IT WAS THE STARVING TIME.

Not the end of winter. Not the start of spring. Not cold. Not hot. Daylight and nightdark were almost equal. Mud lay here and snow lay there. It was as if Earth herself could not decide between life and death.

Editorial Reviews

07/13/2015
Part survival story and part coming-of-age tale, Avi's (Catch You Later, Traitor) novel is told from the alternating points of view of two hunters: Nashoba, an aging wolf, and Casey, a 13-year-old country boy. Despite a leg injury and growing physical weakness, Nashoba is determined to find food for his pack during the "starving time" in early spring. His desperation drives him into dangerous territory, close to where humans reside. Meanwhile, a short distance away, eighth-grader Casey has just received his first archery set and looks forward to the thrill of hunting, which he has only experienced vicariously through computer games. One snowy day Casey ventures out with his bow and arrows in hopes of finding a target. Nashoba, spurred by need, and Casey, seeking adventure, unknowingly inch closer toward each other. The book's short chapters and steadily rising suspense will appeal to even the most reluctant readers. More seasoned readers will appreciate the story's different levels of meaning and subtle themes beyond the central man-versus-nature conflict. Art not seen by PW. Ages 8–12. Author's agent: Gail Hochman, Brandt & Hochman. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"...a fine tale that will benefit from being sifted for all its meanings." -Kirkus Reviews

"Fast paced and exciting, this accessible novel will appeal to those who enjoy adventure stories." - School Library Journal

"...this is likely to appeal to fans of Gary Paulsen and Will Hobbs." -Booklist

"Avi switches

perspective between Nashoba and Casey, building the tension and raising a multitude

of questions in this thought-provoking allegory. Should the head of the food

chain kill for sport? And, is that killing really sport? Naturalistic black-and-white

pencil illustrations by Floca (who also illustrated Avi’s Poppy books) enhance the

classic-feeling tale." -Horn Book Magazine

From the Publisher

06/01/2015
Gr 5–7—Two stories, one animal, one human, set in early spring in the Lodgepole National Forest and environs, converge dramatically in this brief, engaging novel. The opening line "It was the starving time" prefaces the fight between Nashoba, elderly leader of the Iron Mountain wolf pack, and Garby, the young wolf seeking to replace him. Victorious but wounded, Nashoba sets out to find food, reluctantly following the direction of a raven. He heads into the lower Bend Valley, dangerous to wolves because of its human population, and finds a field of elk cows and calves, then returns to persuade the pack to follow him back to this food source. Meanwhile, Casey Seton greets his 13th birthday excited to apply skills from his new archery books and eager to encounter a live wolf reputed to be in the area. His parents' gift is a longbow and arrows, along with soon-to-begin archery lessons to ready him for the fall hunting season. But, left on his own the following day, Casey succumbs to the temptation of trying out his new equipment unsupervised. The narrative's alternating points of view create tension, and the anthropomorphic portrayal of the animals (they think, decide, speak to one another), found in many of Avi's previous books, heighten the drama as wolf and boy come face to face. VERDICT Fast paced and exciting, this accessible novel will appeal to those who enjoy adventure stories.—Marie Orlando, formerly at Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY

School Library Journal

2015-04-15
A modern-day fable intertwines the stories of a young boy and an old wolf. Like all good fables, this one tells its story with minimal characterization and unabashed moral messages. Wolf Nashoba, an aging pack leader, is desperate to find food for his starving band after the long winter, especially since the brash young wolf, Garby, questions his leadership. Meanwhile, Casey, a just-turned-13-year-old human boy who excels at the video hunting game "Bowhunter," is thrilled when he receives a real bow and arrow for his birthday. Nashoba's and Casey's stories collide when Nashoba leads a hunt—helped by wise, acerbic raven Merla—near Casey's home. Casey, searching for a stray arrow, comes across Merla, who is helping Nashoba, injured during the hunt. On instinct, Casey shoots Merla and then is shocked as he realizes the finality of real-world killing. Although the animals speak to one another in quoted dialogue and exhibit humanlike thought processes, animals and humans do not enjoy mutually intelligible speech. The fable's messages—touching on false pride, the facile violence of virtual reality, age and youth, the coexistence of species, the value of kindness, and a few others—are inevitably diluted by being so numerous, but happily, they offer gentle provocation for thoughtful readers. Floca's black-and-white pencil illustrations, with their attentive, appreciative depictions of the natural world, add real depth and poignancy to the story. Overall, a fine tale that will benefit from being sifted for all its meanings. (Fiction. 8-13)

Kirkus Reviews

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