The Wolfhound [Library Binding]

Kristine L. Franklin (Author), Kris Waldherr (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1996 | Age Level: 5 and up

Pavel's love for his new friend, a wolfhound, causes him to risk getting into serious trouble with the law in Tsarist Russia when he decides to keep the wolfhound as his own, simply refusing to send it out into the cold to die.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3. Pavel discovers a dog half frozen in the snow and saves its life. When he shows it to his father, he learns that it is a wolfhound, a breed kept only by nobles, dukes, and the Tsar himself. The boy's father fears that they will be accused of stealing the animal and plans to drive it away at night to live or die. Hoping the wolfhound will find its way home, Pavel leads it into the Tsar's forest. A pack of wolves approaches, and as the dog chases them off, the Tsar arrives. He thanks Pavel for saving Tatiana and sends him home to tell the tale. But no one believes a word of it until the spring, when a royal messenger delivers a gift from Tatiana?a puppy. The text is clear, if not compelling. The full- and double-page illustrations, done in watercolor and oil paints and surrounded by scrolling tapestry borders, are rendered in a manner evocative of Tsarist Russia. Unfortunately, the artist's depiction of the characters' anatomy is awkward. The bright white background on which the text is presented often distracts from the illustrations' more muted tones. This is a story for dog lovers to read along with Joanna Cole's My Puppy Is Born (Morrow, 1991), Tres Seymour's Pole Dog (Orchard, 1993), and Debra Keller's The Trouble with Mister (Chronicle, 1995).?Susan M. Moore, Louisville Free Public Library, KY
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 5^-8. Pavel, a young boy living in czarist Russia, rescues a half-frozen dog and asks his father if he can keep it. But the dog is a wolfhound ("Only nobles keep wolfhounds . . . they will say you stole it"), and a peasant caught with a royal pet risks imprisonment or death. Even so, the boy doesn't want the dog to die, and he and the dog willingly face social taboos and dangerous wolves in the wild in order to save each other. Franklin's vivid text imagery and Waldherr's elegant, decorative illustrations (every page is set within a tapestrylike border) result in a memorable tale that provides entry into a period of Russian history when rules were harsh, clothing distinctive, and survival capricious. Karen Morgan --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Library Binding
• Publisher: Lothrop Lee & Shepard (October 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688136753
• ISBN-13: 978-0688136758
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 9.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,919,927 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Wolfhound, January 4, 2000

By 

H. Evans (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wolfhound (Hardcover)

A wonderful,simple story of peasant boy that saves dog owned by aristocrat and the boy's reward. The illustrations are absolutely luminous and well worth the low price of the book. If you collect children's books, dog books, or want a first dog book for a child, buy this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Wolfhound, February 15, 2006

By 

anonymous (Utah) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wolfhound (Library Binding)

The Wolfhound is the story of a young boy who finds a lost Borzoi dog, and returns it to the Tzar at great personal risk. This story teaches kindness, integrity & courage. Despite the bland review given to the book 'officially', it is books like this one that, taken as a steady diet in a child's youth, develop character traits much desired in people! Children raised on stories such as this (with BEAUTIFUL illustrations) will not likely be found mistreating animals, & integrity and respect for life will become ingrained in their hearts! My children LOVED this book,it is one of our treasures! It encourages a love of good art in addition to the character building attributes of books like this. To label this story 'weak' is both short-sighted and ill-informed.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magic!, December 10, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Wolfhound (Hardcover)

This book is a must for borzoi lovers of all ages. The story is simple and touching. And the lovely illustrations capture the gentle beauty and magic of this very special breed--right down to the borzoi's intelligent, loving gaze.