I am not an animal lover, nor do I usually seek out animal stories in my reading life, although I’ve read my fair share of animal story classics: Old Yeller, Sounder, The Incredible Journey, Black Beauty, Rascal. Most of the classics involve people, too; most of the stories are about pets or domesticated animals.
A Wolf Called Wander is about a wolf, not a domesticated animal at all. When Wander the Wolf comes into contact with men, he is frightened and repulsed and confused by their strange actions. And most of the story is about Wander himself and his journey, not about human contacts or human concerns.
Wander is anthropomorphized somewhat in the book. He has a name as do his brothers and sisters: Pounce, Wag, Sharp, and Warm. Of course, he thinks in sentences and in English because the book is told from Wander’s point of view. Nevertheless, the story is based on the story of a real wolf, tagged OR-7 by biologists, fitted with a radio collar, and tracked on a journey from northeastern Oregon into northern California. Parry took OR-7’s migration journey and made it into a story about a wolf called Wander and his search for a home and a pack of his own.
And she did an excellent job. If you or your child is at all interested in wolves or in the lives of wild creatures in general, A Wolf Called Wander would be a great read. What other books can you think of that are told from the non-domesticated animal’s point of view, but mostly realistic and not very anthropomorphized (not a-boy-and-his-dog/cat/horse and not animals in clothing)? Here are a few that I thought of:
White Fang and Call of the Wild, both by Jack London. I have a plan to read one of London’s books, probably Call of the Wild, as well as a biography of London this month. I think these fit the category in my question, but I haven’t read them.
Bambi by Felix Salten. This classic is about the animals of the forest, especially the fawn Bambi, not about humans. However, the animals do think and “talk” to one another.
Watership Down by Richard Adams is about wild rabbits, but the rabbits do have an extensive mythology and a complicated social order and government. Their actions are mostly realistic, but their story is not.
Animal Stories: Realistic by C. Hollis Crossman at Exodus Books.
It sounds great! I recently read a short nonfiction book about the wolf OR-7 (Journey), and promptly added this one to my list too (but haven’t read it yet). I really enjoy these kinds of books. Some more I can think of: String Lug the Fox and Bodach the Badger by David Stephen, The White Puma by R.D. Lawrence, Biography of a Grizzly by Ernest Thompson Seton (I recommend anything by him!), Red Fox by Charles Roberts, Buck Wild by Glenn Balch, Wild Horse Running by Sam Savitt, Year of the Seal by Victor Scheffer, Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry, The Story of a Red Deery by J.W. Fortescue, A Horse Called Dragon by Lynn Hall, – this is my favorite genre so I could go on and on!
Correction: that should be The Story of a Red DEER by J.W. Fortescue. Typo!
Thanks for the suggestions. As I said, I’m not an animal person, but I am intrigued, nevertheless.