Wolf in the Snow

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Thematically, the idea that humans and animals are equal is prevalent in modern picture books. I’m noticing the main characters of these man-meets-nature books are tending to be female (though not always). There is definitely a stereotypically feminine sensibility that shines through in stories that are essentially about co-operation. In these co-operation stories, the potential opponent turns out to be an ally. All picturebooks are puzzles. The details of pictures invite attention to their implications. The unmoving pictures require viewers to solve the puzzle of what actions and motions they represent. The pictures in wordless books require viewers to solve the puzzle of what story they imply. In books with texts, the words and pictures together tell different stories that require readers to solve the puzzle of how to connect them. The pleasure of picture books is not just in the stories they tell but also in the game of figuring out what those stories are. The Pleasures of Children’s Literature, Nodelman and Reimer STRUCTURE OF WOLF IN THE SNOW

Cordell’s landscapes do a wonderful job showing the vastness and desperation of the girl’s journey, his blended watercolors of the snow and trees adding eloquence to the experience. A heartwarming adventure about helping others, best shared one-on-one to pore over the engaging images."-- School Library Journal, starred review This nearly wordless picture book is a tender, never precious story of kindness and cooperation. Expect this wintry tale to bring only warmth."-- Booklist, starred review Marquard, Peterson (1998). "Food Habits of Arctic Wolves in Greenland". Journal of Mammalogy. 79 (1): 236–244. doi: 10.2307/1382859. JSTOR 1382859.Marquard-Petersen, Ulf (2012). "Decline and Extermination of an Arctic Wolf Population in East Greenland". Arctic. 65 (2). doi: 10.14430/arctic4197. Marquard, Peterson (October 2009). "Abundance, social organization, and population trend of the arctic wolf in north and east greenland during 1978–1998". Canadian Journal of Zoology. 87 (10): 895–901. doi: 10.1139/z09-078. Dig Deep. Read the information about two topics related to the book. Answer the questions related to the non-fiction text.

Mech, David. L (2005). "Decline and Recovery of a High Arctic Wolf-Prey System". Arctic. 58 (3): 305–307. doi: 10.14430/arctic432. JSTOR 40512716. Mech, David (September 1, 2005). "Decline and Recovery of a High Arctic Wolf-Prey System". Arctic. 58 (3). doi: 10.14430/arctic432. Theme. Focus on the theme of the text using this worksheet. Themes for this text include curiosity, wonder, and more than meets the eye. How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story? Strong female characters fill the story. The main character is a strong and brave girl, who doesn’t hesitate to do the right thing for the little wolf pup, even at risk to herself. The mother human and wolf are also the ones who come to find their children and bring them home.Cordell, Matthew. "Caldecott Medal Acceptance." The Horn Book Magazine, July-Aug. 2018, p. 47+. General OneFile. Accessed 10 Aug. 2018. Cordell, Matthew. "Wolf in the Snow: Matthew Cordell's 2017 BGHB Picture Book Honor Speech". Horn Book . Retrieved 14 May 2018. In Wolf In The Snow, Red Riding Hood comes close to death when she gets lost in the woods, lies down and curls up, as if ready to give up. A scene from Matthew Cordell’s Wolf in the Snow. Notice the lights shining out like search lights, showing us that the parents are looking for her, and worried. Notice how Cordell’s choice to draw in a naive style opens up the possibility of playing with scale as needed. The girl is completely out of proportion to the forest. She’s far too big. But this works perfectly for the illustration, becaues we can see exactly what’s happening. This is the massive advantage of “illustration” over fine art/photography. Female myths also tend to be more about co-operation than about individual heroes saving the world. The mirrored motifs of this picture book exemplify the spirit of loving co-operation. The covers of Japanese magazine Ukatama also make use of the motif of the little girl in the red coat and also her wolf.

This is slightly different from your classic adventure story as described (and critiqued) by Marjery Hourihan. This is an example of a modern female myth. How are female myths different from hero myths? There is no traditional ‘battle’ scene and the characters think and feel their way out of trouble. Wolf in the Snow is the perfect example of a so-called female myth.Rizzuto, Lauren (7 December 2017). "Best children's and YA books of 2017". Boston Globe . Retrieved 10 May 2018.

We do not know very much at all about animals. We cannot understand them except in terms of our own needs and experiences”--LopezGoldman, E. A. (1964). Classification of wolves. In The Wolves of North America Part 2. Young, S. P. & Goldman, E. A. (Eds.) New York: Dover Publs. p. 430. Though I have had a life of the outdoors, I am a city guy now. I don’t know much about wolves, really, except what I read about the western struggle to either protect or eliminate them. I have consistently been on the side of protecting them, chiefly informed by my reading of the great environmental writer (Arctic Dreams!) Barry Lopez’s On Wolves and Men (1978).