Lone Wolf [Paperback]

Kristine L. Franklin (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Living up in the north woods, Perry Dubois and his dad don't see other people much. Perry's dad likes it that way, and Perry is getting used to it, too. So when Willow Pestalozzi and her large family move in nearby, Perry is not all that happy about it. For starters, Willow and her sisters ask too many nosy questions. Like, why doesn't Perry go to school? And where's his mom? And how does it feel to be an only child? But even though the Pestalozzis remind Perry of everything he wants to forget, he can't help being drawn to the generous warmth of their family. Kristine L. Franklin sends a bolt to your heart in an extraordinary novel that reveals how learning to laugh again also means being able, at last, to cry.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7. An 11-year-old boy who lives with his reclusive father gradually warms up to a new friend and her large, loud, and loving family. A tightly narrated story about coming to terms with past tragedies.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 4^-7. Perry has learned to accommodate his father's personality as best he can. That means being self-sufficient, never speaking unnecessarily, and above all, keeping a lid on "those kinds of feelings, the bad ones, that make a guy act like a wuss." He and his dad have moved to the north woods of Minnesota following the death of Perry's baby sister, and although Perry's mother writes him regularly, Perry never reads her letters. Home schooling has allowed him ample time to explore and read about his natural surroundings. It has also left him isolated from his peers, so when a family moves into the house near Perry's special cave, he must learn to accept the joys and difficulties of sharing with others not only his private place but also himself. Franklin creates characters with great authenticity, and her first-person narrative adeptly captures Perry's voice without sacrificing a smooth writing style. This will be a juicy choice for book discussions. Susan Dove Lempke --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (May 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763604801
• ISBN-13: 978-0763604806
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,347,689 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lone Wolf, April 19, 2004

By 

Cassie (Muncie, IN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lone Wolf (Paperback)

The book Lone Wolf, by Kristine L. Franklin, is a heart filled story about a boy named Perry Dubois. I liked this book because you can see and feel how Perry grows into a new person after tragedy. A lot of the feelings that Perry has, relate to the feelings people occasionally have. That is important. He thought that he would be just fine on his own. He didn't need other people. He wasn't lonely. After his little sister died, and his mom left his dad and him, he could be alone forever. This all changed after he met Willow.

This book is similar to my life, because Perry Dubois can only be friends with a girl, because no other boys live around him. When I was little, before very many kids moved into my neighborhood, the only person I had to play with was a boy. No girls lived around me, although it changed after a few years.

This is when Perry tells his father that he is going looking for a wolf with a girl. "Well, one of those girls, Willow, saw a wolf up on the big granite slab. She drew a picture of it. She has a big family and her mom's an artist. I think her dad is too. We're going looking for wolf foot-prints and stuff like that. (Franklin, 78)

The title of this book, Lone Wolf, means exactly what the book is about. Perry Dubois's life was just like any other kid his age's. But when his mother and his sister were in a car wreck, and his little sister was killed, his mom never got over it. She cried all the time, his father couldn't stand it, Perry couldn't either. After a year, Perry's mom walked out on them. He and his father moved into a forest about five miles away from town. Perry and his father rarely talked. Perry spent a lot of time in his cave that he discovered in the forest. The only other house around was vacant; The Bennet House, until The Pestalozzi Family moved into it.

Willow and Perry met in Perry's cave. The cave is actually on Willow's family's property. He's frightened of loosing his cave, it was his private resort where he could get out of his less-than-satisfying world.

"You're trespassing." My stomach dropped down to my knees. No! Could it be true? Could my cave, my wonderful secret hideout, my privacy place, be part of the Bennet House property? That possibility had never occurred to me. (Franklin, 31)

When I read the book, Lone Wolf, at times I felt very sad and sorry for Perry Dubois. Other times, when Perry is able to have fun, I felt good for him. He had such a depressing life, but as the book goes on, he gets to be happier. After Willow came into the picture, he was growing fond of her family. It was a happy event when the Pestalozzi Family invited his father and him over for Christmas eve.

Perry got his father to accept the invitation and go, but when he went into town for firewood, it was snowing too hard for him to come home.
"Did my dad call or anything?" I asked Mr. P when I got to the table.
"No Perry," he said sadly. "And it's snowing really hard out. I doubt if he'll make it back, so we'll go ahead and eat. Dinner has been ready for more than an hour. We may get fifteen to twenty inches tonight."
"He'll make it," I said, trying to sound sure of myself. "He's got the blade on the truck."
"Some sections of the highway are closed," said Mr. P. "We'll save some food for your dad, just in case."
"You can stay with us, Perry," said Willow. She pushed her glasses into place and blew a long strand of dark hair out of her face. "We can pretend you're part of our family, like a cousin or a brother or something." She grinned and wiggled her eye brows up and down. (Franklin, 196)
This is an example of how a sad situation can turn into a happy one.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kids enjoy the story; Easy book to teach, May 19, 2002

By 

Matthew Gunia (Justice, Illinois) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lone Wolf (Paperback)

This is the story of Perry, the lonliest kid in the world. In response to the tragic death of his daughter and separation from his wife, Jack Dubois takes his son, Perry to a secluded, forested region of Minnesota, then becomes the stereotypical "silent tough guy." As a result, Perry (who is also home-schooled), has no friends and nobody to talk to. He is self-reliant until a new family moves into the nearby Bennett House: A large family of talkative artists from California. Perry is upset about this (as I know I would be if talkative artists moved in next door to me), especially because the only family memmber his age is a girl (ewwwwwww!). Slowly, Perry and Jack open up to each other and build interpersonal relationships.

While I don't think this is Kristine Franklin's best book, it is a good one. I taught it to my fifth graders who enjoyed it a lot. One good thing about this book is the fact that Perry is a dynamic (changing), three dimensional character, so we can focus on him and how he changes during the novel, while the other characters are largely one-dimensinal. This is not a criticism of the book: it allows the young reader to identify with the characters and predict what his/her reactions will be ("Dad will say nothing, Willow will talk a lot and be annoying," etc.), so that reading comprehnesion is easier.

In sum, I recommend this book because kids enjoy the story, the static characters make reading it easy and because it's generally an easy book to teach.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I am a librarian who likes to ride Gary Paulsen and Will Hobbs., December 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Lone Wolf (Hardcover)

Lone Wolf, set in northern Minnesota, reflects an 11-year-old boy's point of view. Every character in the book is seen through the eyes of this young man, so his perceptions of how the other characters relate to him are insular and are related to his innermost feelings, which are not objective during this period of his life. I found the book hard to put down and very descriptive. No one has mentioned how art plays a role in the plot. This is a book about feelings -- total avoidance of feelings and the consequences, the need for touch and companionship of social beings, and the basic human need for love. This is also a book about acceptance -- acceptance of those who are different from us, accepting change in our family units as people grow in different directions instead of growing together within the family unit, and accepting our own shortcomings in our family-and-friend relationships. I highly recommend this book.