Nutik, the Wolf Pup [Hardcover]

Jean Craighead George (Author), Ted Rand (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 2001

In an Eskimo village at the top of the world lived a little boy whose name was Amaroq. Named for the great wolf leader who saved the life of his big sister, Julie, Amaroq loved wolves as much as his big sister did.

One day Julie brings home a sickly wolf pup named Nutik for Amaroq to feed and tend. "Don't fall in love with Nutik," Julie warns, "or your heart will break when the wolves come to take their pup home." Amaroq feeds and cares for Nutik, and soon the fuzzy little pup is romping and playing and following Amaroq everywhere. Amaroq and Nutik become best friends, but soon it's time for Nutik to rejoin his wolf family. Will Amaroq be strong like the great wolf leader he was named after and be able to let Nutik go?

In this adventure-first told in Julie's Wolf Pack, sequel to the Newbery Medal-winning Julie of the Wolves Jean Craighead George brings the Arctic world of Julie and her family to a picturebook audience.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When a little Eskimo boy named Amaroq is given a sickly wolf pup to nurse back to health, his sister Julie warns him, "Don't fall in love, Amaroq, or your heart will break when the wolves come and take him away." But it's too late. One look in the pup's golden eyes and Amaroq is smitten. Soon enough, Nutik the wolf has grown fat and well, and he and Amaroq are never apart. When the wolf pack comes back to reclaim their cub, Amaroq must be strong enough to let him go. Now can the two friends be strong enough to remain apart?

Do some of these names sound familiar? They should. First told in the novel, Julie's Wolf Pack, this adventure is a young reader's picture-book introduction to Jean Craighead George's classic trilogy for older children, The Epic Adventures of Julie and Her Wolves, including the Newbery Medal-winning Julie of the Wolves. George crafts an exquisite story for a new generation of readers sprung from those who grew up with many of her more than 80 outstanding children's books. Acclaimed illustrator Ted Rand traveled to the Arctic tundra to research the pictures for this book; the result is splendidly evocative of the beauty and desolation of Alaska, both in daylight (which lasts for three months in the summer) and at night. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5-George adapts a story from Julie's Wolf Pack (HarperCollins, 1997) for a picture-book readership. In simple language and a lilting repetitive cadence, she tells of an Eskimo boy and the wolf pup he raises under his sister's watchful supervision. When Julie presents Amaroq with a frail wolf pup to raise, she sternly admonishes him not to love it, warning him that the pup's rightful place is with his pack, and that their foster-care arrangement is only temporary. Amaroq loves the animal anyway, and in the end, a surfeit of love leaves him anything but brokenhearted. Rand's deeply textured illustrations evoke the expansive white vistas and low light of the Alaskan wilderness in winter. Most of the story takes place during a protracted twilight and nightfall, and the artist successfully integrates the absence of direct sunlight to good effect. This beautiful book is a terrific way to introduce younger readers to George's award-winning prose.
Catherine T. Quattlebaum, DeKalb County Public Library, Atlanta, GA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (January 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060281642
• ISBN-13: 978-0060281649
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,963,873 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jean Craighead George was born in a family of naturalists. Her father, mother, brothers, aunts and uncles were students of nature. On weekends they camped in the woods near their Washington, D.C. home, climbed trees to study owls, gathered edible plants and made fish hooks from twigs. Her first pet was a turkey vulture. In third grade she began writing and hasn't stopped yet. She has written over 100 books.Her book, Julie of the Wolves won the prestigious Newbery Medal, the American Library Association's award for the most distinguished contribution to literature for children, l973. My Side of the Mountain, the story of a boy and a falcon surviving on a mountain together, was a 1960 Newbery Honor Book. She has also received 20 other awards.She attended Penn State University graduating with a degree in Science and Literature. In the 1940s she was a reporter for The Washington Post and a member of the White House Press Corps. After her children were born she returned to her love of nature and brought owls, robins, mink, sea gulls, tarantulas - 173 wild animals into their home and backyard. These became characters in her books and, although always free to go, they would stay with the family until the sun changed their behavior and they migrated or went off to seek partners of their own kind.When her children, Twig, Craig and Luke, were old enough to carry their own backpacks, they all went to the animals. They climbed mountains, canoed rivers, hiked deserts. Her children learned about nature and Jean came home and to write books. Craig and Luke are now environmental scientists and Twig writes children's books, too.One summer Jean learned that the wolves were friendly, lived in a well-run society and communicated with each other in wolf talk -- sound, sight, posture, scent and coloration. Excited to learn more, she took Luke and went to the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory in Barrow, Alaska, where scientists were studying this remarkable animal. She even talked to the wolves in their own language. With that Julie of the Wolves was born. A little girl walking on the vast lonesome tundra outside Barrow, and a magnificent alpha male wolf, leader of a pack in Denali National Park were the inspiration for the characters in the book. Years later, after many requests from her readers, she wrote the sequels, Julie and Julie's Wolf Pack.She is still traveling and coming home to write. In the last decade she has added two beautiful new dimensions to her words beautiful full-color picture book art by Wendell Minor and others and - music. Jean is collaborating with award-winning composer, Chris Kubie to bring the sounds of nature to her words.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A howling good story!, October 31, 2001

By 

Rebecca Brown "rebeccasreads" (Clallam Bay, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nutik, the Wolf Pup (Hardcover)

In an Eskimo village at the top of the world lives a little boy whose name is Amaroq, so named for the great wolf leader who saved the life of his big sister, Julie. One day Julie brings home a sickly wolf pup named Nutik.

When his big sister puts Nutik into Amaroq's arms, she tells her little brother to feed & tend the pup. She also warns her brother not to fall in love with Nutik as she has promised the wolf pack that when both pups are fat & well, they will be returned.

Amaroq says he is strong & sets about feeding the bedraggled pup. Together through a magical summer, pup & boy, frolic in the tundra of the land of the midnight sun.

When, at last, the sun does set & the long dark winter comes upon them & Nutik is strong & healthy, the wolf pack comes to the edge of Amaroq's village, calling Nutik home. Amaroq is not as strong as he once thought, especially when his beloved pup takes him out into the star filled night to meet his wolf family.

This is a poignant & magical look at the love between a boy & a wolf pup, at the rightness of our actions, the pain of duty & the rewards of responsibility.

Lovely, lovely read!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Marvelous!, March 14, 2001

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nutik, the Wolf Pup (Hardcover)

When she was younger and lost and starving, Julie was saved by wolves who shared their food and kept her safe and warm. Now many years later, Julie brings her brother, Amoraq, a small sickly wolfpup to feed and take care of. She tells him, "When he is fat and well, the wolves will come and get him." Amoraq looks into the golden eyes of the pup, Nutik, and it's love at first sight. "Don't fall in love, Amoraq", Julie warns him, "be strong." As time goes by and the three months of summer light begins to fade, Nutik becomes fat and healthy and soon the wolves call for him. At first, Amoraq takes Nutik and runs away. But soon, the wolves call again and Nutik knows it's time to go home where he belongs..... Jean Craighead George has written a memorable picture book introduction to her Julie and the Wolves books, a whole new generation will treasure. Her text, full of imagery and magic will capture your youngster's heart and Ted Rand's expressive illustrations of the Alaskan tundra will mesmerize children with their vivid beauty. Together, they've authored a special book of love, friendship and respect your kids will want to read again and again. And, just like her Julie books, Nutik the Wolf Pup is sure to become a classic in the years ahead.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wolf stories, December 29, 2010

By 

Ruthie - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nutik, the Wolf Pup (Hardcover)

We rented this from the library And it was such a wonderful story of love that we
Purchased it. If Your children like wolves or dogs, add this book to your
Collection!