George, Jean Craighead. (1972). Julie of the Wolves. New York: Harper Collins Children's Books, 170 pp.

Grade Range: 6-9

Genre: contemporary fiction

Summary and Critique

This Newberry Award winning novel, set in Arctic Alaska, features wolves as main characters. The story is divided into three parts instead of the traditional chapters. In Part I, a 13 year old Eskimo girl, Miyax, runs away from an arranged marriage and gets lost on the tundra. Using what she has learned from her father, she befriends a pack of wolves and gets them to accept her almost as a member of the pack in order to survive in this harsh and unforgiving terrain. Part II is a flashback telling about young Miyax's life before getting lost and how she got her"Gussack" (i.e. white) name, Julie. Finally, in Part III, the story returns to Miyax/Julie back on the tundra where the wolves have left for their winter grounds. She must now struggle alone, but eventually finds her way to the village where her long-lost father is living, having adopted the ways of white society. She then must decide if she wants her future to be a connection with her Eskimo past or if she wants to change with the times like her father has.

Besides being a compelling adventure story, the book also teaches about wolf behavior and social structure. Most appropriate for upper elementary and middle school, it could also be used as a read aloud for younger children. The wealth of tundra and Eskimo vocabulary is valuable for a science unit on the tundra or wolves or a social studies unit on Native Americans.

Awards

American Library Association Newbery Medal

National Book Award for Young People's Literature (Nominee)

Scholastic 200 for 2000

School Library Journal: 100 Books That Shaped the Century

Themes/Topics

Families

Generations

Race, Ethnicity, and Culture

Challenges and Triumphs

The Individual vs. Society

Nature/Science

Animals

Adventure

Author/Illustrator/Editor Information

Jean Craighead George has a degree in Science and Literature and has combined these two loves into a career spanning over fifty years. She has been a naturalist since childhood and instills a respect for the environment and all its creatures in her numerous books.

For more information on Jean Craighead George:

http://www.jeancraigheadgeorge.com/ George's official Web site contains biographical information, a list of her books, frequently asked questions, and tips on writing, as well as photos and audio and video clips.

Illustrator John Schoenherr has also been interested in nature since childhood. He has illustrated over forty books in addition to his career as a landscape and nature painter.

For more information on John Schoenherr:

http://www.embracingthechild.org/aschoenherr.html This Web site includes contact information, a list of books and awards, and brief biographical information.

Media Connections

Movies/Documentaries

Bend It Like Beckham (2002) The story of girl caught between two cultures features strong female characters. Jess wants to play soccer with her British friends, but her traditionalist Sikh Indian immigrant parents forbid it. She must try to combine both worlds while each side seemingly requires her to choose only one.

Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition (2000) This documentary narrated by Liam Neesan features interviews of historians as well as the descendants of Ernest Shackleton's crew from their disastrous attempt to reach the South Pole from 1914 to 1916. Trapped in the ice for almost two years, the crew goes to amazing lengths to survive.

Fly Away Home (1996) An uprooted young girl is unhappy in her new home half way across the world from everything she's ever known. When she discovers a nest of abandoned Canadian goose eggs, she begins a journey to save the animals and help them find their way south, which brings her closer to her own family in the end.

Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) A more accurate version of the traditional Tarzan story, the orphaned Earl of Greystoke is returned to English society after being raised by apes in Africa and must struggle to find his place. He knows how to survive in the jungle, but fitting into white society can be even more dangerous.

The Last of the Mohicans (1992) This is the most recent film version of James Fennimore Cooper's classic novel. An orphaned white infant settler is raised by members of the Mohawk tribe in the 1700's. As a man, he must find his place in a changing world and chose between the traditional ways of his adopted culture and the love of a white woman which comes with the encroachment of the British.

Never Cry Wolf (1983) Based on the book of the true story by Farley Mowat, the movie teaches valuable lessons about the environment and the struggle between people and the natural world. Mowat was sent to study wolves and prove their danger to the caribou herds, but he discovers the truth about the necessity of the wolf to a healthy environment.

Old Yeller (1957) The classic coming of age story of a young boy in the 1860's Old West shows the value of a strong bond between people and animals. He learns that becoming a man comes with adventures and pain.

Wolves at Our Door (1997) This documentary tells the story of a naturalist and his wife who raised a pack of grey wolf puppies and filmed their growth and development.

Television

The Waltons (1972-1981) Set in the 1930's in the mountains of Virginia, the series chronicles generations of a strong family helping each other survive the Great Depression.

Good Times (1974) The story of a poor African-American family in Chicago explores racial and cultural identity, survival in tough times, and the importance of family and community bonds.

Music/Audio Recordings

Sounds of the Earth: Wolves (1999) The CD contains sounds of wolves both in a pack and as individuals as well as the other sounds from their natural habitat. It is only the sounds of nature and animals and has no man-made musical or voice effects.

Online Resources

http://www.wolf.org/wolves/index.asp This Web site, created by the International Wolf Center, contains a variety of information about wolves for students and teachers. There are printable coloring books, online puzzles, wolf masks and many other things for kids as well as a wealth of educational material for teachers.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/wolves/ Based on the 1997 NOVA episode,"Wild Wolves," the Web site contains audio clips and information about various types of howls, a teacher's guide with classroom activities, an interactive quiz about the wolf-dog connection, and many other useful pieces of information.

http://www.proteacher.com/090077.shtml Part of the ProTeacher! Web site, this page has various links to Native American lesson plans, including several for the Inuit (Eskimo) people.

http://www.si.edu/history_and_culture/cultural_identity_and_interaction/ The Smithsonian Museum's Web site has a wealth of material from archival documents to links to other Web sites all concerning cultural identity and interaction.

http://www.learningtogive.org/lessons/imax/shackletons_antarctic_adventure/6-8.asp This teaching guide is for the movie Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure is appropriate for middle school viewers and focuses on how the physical environment affects people.

http://www.nunanet.com/~jtagak/resources/ Jane Tagak's home page has Inuit culture resources for educators, including history, culture, and legends.

Related Texts

George, Jean Craighead. (1996). Julie. New York: Harper Trophy, 226pp. This sequel to Julie of the Wolves explains what happens when Miyax/Julie returns to civilization to live with her father, Kapugen. They are both struggling to maintain Eskimo values in the increasingly modern and demanding world—a world in which her beloved wolves are a threat to the livestock which forms the basis of the village's economy.

George, Jean Craighead. (1997). Julie's Wolf Pack. New York: Harper Trophy, 191pp. The third installment of the Julie trilogy, this story focuses on the wolves themselves and how the new generation of the pack that saved Miyax/Julie struggles to survive.

O'Dell, Scott. (1960). Island of the Blue Dolphins. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 184pp. In this Newbery Award winner, an Indian girl survived alone on an island off the coast of California for 18 years until Spanish missionaries brought her to live in their convent.

Griffin, John Howard. (1996). Black Like Me edition reissue. New York: Signet, 192pp. Written in the 1950's and pre-dating the Civil Rights Movement, this is the true story of white man who disguised himself as an African-American in order to see what it was really like. He implies that we can never truly understand another culture from the outside.

Paulsen, Gary. (1985). Dogsong. New York: Bradbury Press, 177pp. In this Newbery Honor Book, a 14 year old Eskimo boy takes a dog sled journey of over a thousand miles in order to reconnect with his cultural past. High adventure in the Arctic and cultural identity are major features of the b4teens_book.

Neil, Philip. (1995). Songs Are Thoughts: Poems of the Inuit. New York: Orchard Books. This collection of poems is meant to be sung, but the beautiful illustrations in the book will enchant children as well. The starkly simple words match the tundra environment from which they come.

McManus, Patrick. (1996). Never Cry Arp! and Other Great Adventures. New York: Henry Holt & Company, 133pp. This humorous short story collection is based on misadventures of children and teenagers in the wilderness.

Teaching Ideas

(1) "Inkblots and Insights" Discuss the inkblot test and how it is supposed to reveal a person's character. Show sample inkblots and spend a little time creating inkblots using food coloring on paper. Students are then to respond to an inkblot (either a random one, or one specially created) as one of the characters. Students could be Miyax/Julie or one of the main wolves, such as Amoraq (the leader), Jello (the exiled lone wolf), or Kapu (the alpha puppy who eventually takes over leadership of the tribe). They can then be the psychiatrist and analyze the responses, telling about the character, and giving advice.

[Adapted from "Inkblots and Insights" by Patricia Ward in Classroom Notes Plus. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. March 1997, p. 4.]

(2) "Reviewing a Novel through Collaborative Illustration" Divide the class into groups of four and have group members list the six most important events in Julie of the Wolves (don't tell them they will be drawing them so they don't limit themselves by what they think they can easily draw.) Then give each group a large sheet of roll paper and have them divide it into six sections. Group members must work together to illustrate the major events. Once all groups are finished, compare and contrast the chosen events and drawings made by the different groups and have each group defend their choices.

[Adapted from "Reviewing a Novel through Collaborative Illustration" by Kelly Wolslegel in Ideas Plus Book 15. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, pp. 28-29.]

(3) "An Effective Method of Teaching the Friendly Letter" Miyax/Julie runs away to try to live with her pen-pal, Amy, in San Francisco. In this modern age of e-mail, the art of the friendly letter must be taught in order to be preserved. Pair up students with others in a feeder school; for example, middle school students could write to 5^th graders in a feeder elementary school. The older students will give their impressions of how middle school is different than elementary and give the younger students advice they can use to adjust next year. A second copy will be given to the teacher with transitional words underlined. Students will enjoy the feeling of importance that comes with helping others, as well as learning how to use transitions.

[Adapted from "An Effective Method of Teaching the Friendly Letter" by Kathy Megyeri in Ideas Plus Book 16. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, pp. 14-15.]

(Review written by Shannon Swiderski and edited by Jennifer E. Moore)