Apart from a few huffs and puffs from the little girl, the wolves are the only characters with any written words in the book. However, Wolf in the Snow has no need for the written word: the illustrations tell a poignant tale all by themselves. School Library Journal raves, "No one reading this book would want there to be any text, though. I’ve read some wordless books that require additional explanation from the parental units reading them. This book is commendable for its clarity. Everything makes sense, even if the characters don’t always do what you think they would" (Bird 2017).
As a fellow creature of the canine persuasion, I had some doubts about the believability of the story: would the wolves really know to howl to draw in the adults searching for the little girl? Would the little girl really be safe bringing a wolf cub back to its pack? Probably not. However, these plot points are important to the story, helping the wolf characters seem relatable while also putting them in a positive light. Cordell mentions the Yellowstone Wolf Project in the acknowledgments, so it's likely he was very intentional about the positive portrayal of the wolves in his story. Historically, humans have feared and killed wolves, and much of children's literature paints them as scary, dangerous, sneaky animals that are not to be trusted - the most famous of which is the Big, Bad Wolf of fairy tale fame. Cordell's book helps right that wrong, characterizing the wolves as kind, and subtly showing children that wolves and humans can live together peaceably. Maggie Reagan shares this sentiment in her review for Booklist: "[The wolves are] realistically depicted wild animals who inherently understand loyalty. Expect this wintry tale to bring only warmth" (Reagan 2016).
Wolf in the Snow won the 2017 Caldecott Award, and it is clear why: Cordell's use of watercolor and ink creates a striking contrast between gently blended colors and sharp, clear lines. He also uses different amounts of detail to emphasize certain parts of the story. While the humans are drawn almost like cartoons, with roughly triangular shapes and the type of facial features one would expect from an emoji, the wolves are drawn in great detail, down to the individual hairs on their muzzles. This stark contrast surprises the reader and draws the eye to the animal. I found myself appreciating the wild beauty of the wolves as my eyes drank in each detail.
One feature that sets this story apart from its contemporaries is that Cordell chose to include three pages of illustrations before the title page. The author/illustrator uses these few pages to set the scene, introducing us to all of the characters, both human and lupine. If the reader looks closely, you can tell it is just starting to snow on the first spread, but as the pages turn, the snow begins to accumulate, providing subtle foreshadowing of the storm to come.
Cordell uses empty space brilliantly in the pages of the story. While most of the pages are two-page spreads of full color scenery, there are a few times within the story that Cordell fills the page with white space and only illustrates within a circle in the center of the page. It reminded me of peering through binoculars. Isolating the action to one small area of the page adds to the feeling of isolation when the young girl and wolf pup are each lost. While their images within the circles are only inches apart on the page, they might as well be miles apart, as the empty space on the page illustrates how each character is feeling very alone.
One interesting way to help your pups enjoy this story is to pair it with a traditional Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale, then looking for similarities and differences. Lon Po Po, also a Caldecott award winner, is a version of Little Red Riding Hood that hails from China. Another good story pairing might be Jean Craighead George's picture book Nutick, the Wolf Pup, which has many parallels to Wolf in the Snow, as a young Native American boy finds a lost wolf cub and nurses it back to health until it returns to its pack.
Reading aloud Wolf in the Snow also provides a great opportunity to practice prediction. Starting with the cover, have children predict what they think the story will be about. What in the illustration informs their guesses? You can record their predictions to refer back to at the end of the story. Pause again before each major plot point is revealed and ask students to predict what will happen next (it might be best not to stop and record these, as it would interrupt the momentum of the story.) Look at the wolf illustrations, especially the one detailed silhouette early in the story: does the wolf look nice or mean? Why do you think that? As you finish the story, ask if their predictions were correct, returning to important illustrations in the book to support their ideas.
Wolf in the Snow is a beautiful example of the power of illustrations to tell a story, and I know my pack at home will be reading this one repeatedly. Matthew Cordell's artful storytelling and meaningful illustrations get two paws up from me!
Until next time, happy reading!
Wags and woofs,
Charlie Brown, basset hound
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Bibliography
Bird, Elizabeth. 2017. "Review of the Day: Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell." A Fuse #8 Production (blog), School Library Journal, March 24, 2017, http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2017/03/24/review-of-the-day-wolf-in-the-snow-by-matthew-cordell/.
Cordell, Matthew. 2017. Wolf in the Snow. New York: Feiwel and Friends. ISBN 9781250076366
Reagan, Maggie. 2016. "Wolf in the Snow." Review of Wolf in the Snow, by Matthew Cordell. Booklist 113, no. 8: 60.
Bird, Elizabeth. 2017. "Review of the Day: Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell." A Fuse #8 Production (blog), School Library Journal, March 24, 2017, http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2017/03/24/review-of-the-day-wolf-in-the-snow-by-matthew-cordell/.
Cordell, Matthew. 2017. Wolf in the Snow. New York: Feiwel and Friends. ISBN 9781250076366
Reagan, Maggie. 2016. "Wolf in the Snow." Review of Wolf in the Snow, by Matthew Cordell. Booklist 113, no. 8: 60.
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