George, Jean Craighead . Julie of the Wolves. NY: Harper & Row, 1972. 180 pages. (Historical Fiction)
With troubles at home, Miyax, a.k.a. Julie, finds herself running towards San Francisco and her pen pal. Life had not always been this way for Julie; she had lived with many other children at the seal camp in Barrow, Alaska. Her mother had died right after giving birth, and her father had gone off hunting one day and had never returned. So, now she was stuck on the North Slope of Alaska with out enough food, not even a compass! She’s camped next to an Artic wolf pack. Julie watches them. She needs food. As she watches, she notices that the wolves lower than the leader in the pack always lick the leader, which Julie names Amaroq, on the chin before asking for food. Everyday she creeps closer and closer to the wolves, until she slowly comes up to Amaroq and licks him on the chin. He then wags his tail in a sign of friendship. She’s welcomed into the pack!! Julie and the new pups soon become fast friends. Her favorite pup which she named Kapu, after her father, played with her everyday. Day by day she struggles to find her way to the ocean to get on a boat to San Francisco. Will she ever get there?
With troubles at home, Miyax, a.k.a. Julie, finds herself running towards San Francisco and her pen pal. Life had not always been this way for Julie; she had lived with many other children at the seal camp in Barrow, Alaska. Her mother had died right after giving birth, and her father had gone off hunting one day and had never returned. So, now she was stuck on the North Slope of Alaska with out enough food, not even a compass! She’s camped next to an Artic wolf pack. Julie watches them. She needs food. As she watches, she notices that the wolves lower than the leader in the pack always lick the leader, which Julie names Amaroq, on the chin before asking for food. Everyday she creeps closer and closer to the wolves, until she slowly comes up to Amaroq and licks him on the chin. He then wags his tail in a sign of friendship. She’s welcomed into the pack!! Julie and the new pups soon become fast friends. Her favorite pup which she named Kapu, after her father, played with her everyday. Day by day she struggles to find her way to the ocean to get on a boat to San Francisco. Will she ever get there?
I found this book to be very exciting; it just made me want to keep reading forever!! I highly recommend it for its excitement and seriousness. I would definitely read a book by the same author because I just love the way she writes. One minute the book is all serious, and the next you’re crying because it’s so funny.
Reviewed by: WillTurner136
