It was September, 2025. One of the third-grade teachers at my school had an idea. “Let’s start a one-book program,” she said. 

“For which grades?” I asked.

“Three through five.” 

I’m the library-media specialist. Our school serves students in grades K-8.

“Help me find the right book,” she said. 

First I looked through the collection. Then I started looking through SLJ reviews, and after I compiled a solid list of possibilities, I started reading. It’s hard to find a book that fits the interests and reading level of such a wide range of students, but I was comforted by the knowledge that our One Book program would be a family program. That is, families would read the book at home together, several chapters per week, and then students would engage in all sorts of related activities at school. A student’s reading comprehension level jumps two full grade levels when read to by an experienced reader. 

Our final selection was A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Parry. We chose it because it met all of our criteria:

·      High Interest and Great Storytelling – Rosanne is a master storyteller. Additionally, her books incorporate actual events. 

·      Science Connections – A Wolf Called Wander builds enormous amounts of content and thematic knowledge, including animal biology, ecology, symbiotic relationships, group dynamics, and empathy. 

·      Part of a Series – A Wolf Called Wander is the first in Rosanne’s Voices of the Wilderness series. We knew that if we could get kids hooked on one book, we would likely want to read other books in the same series.

·      Reading Level – The text complexity is simple enough to be read in chunks by most third graders, and in its entirety by all fifth graders. 

Lastly, it was a title I was familiar with. I’d taught the book several years in a row in a previous school, I’d recently reviewed Rosanne’s A Wolf Called Fire for School Library Journal just a few months prior. 

So we set off to start the program. The plan was to create a kick-off event at school, starting with songs performed by the students. Without giving away the title of the book, the music teacher agreed to have them learn several songs based on themes in the book. The highlight of the event, however, was a video recorded by Rosanne herself, specifically for our students. She mentioned the school and our mascot by name, and spoke directly to parents, too, who were in the audience with their children. I can’t tell you what a huge deal this was! We ordered 150 copies of the book and handed them out to families that evening, with additional copies for classroom teachers, paraprofessionals, special educators, and specialists. Finally, we ordered several complete sets of Rosanne’s other books as well. 

Throughout the year, we kept in touch with families by sending emails each week with discussion questions and the suggested number of pages to read each night. 

We also used the book as the basis for teaching literary analysis and several wolf-themed writing projects. In addition to serving as our library-media specialist, I also teach writing, so this was an easy thing to do, schedule-wise. In science class, students learned about biomes, predator/prey relationships, and forestry. We also arranged for students to experience a virtual field trip to the Wolf Conservation Center in Salem, New York.

The book for this (SY 2026-2027) year’s One Book program has been selected, but I can’t announce it just yet because it needs to be a surprise at school. I can tell you that like Rosanne Parry, the author is hugely successful author, and her work really speaks to kids. I’ll be sure to make the announcement here, in this space, when I’m able to share it! 

In closing, I want to reach out to my friends in the publishing community. Publishers and agents, if you’re reading this, and would like to suggest a book for our One Book program, please get in touch! I’d love to hear about any particularly exciting, new titles coming out. We’re especially interested in books whose authors are willing to communicate and correspond with our teachers and students. Our hope is to create a culture of literacy at our schools, and culture is built through communication. I can’t promise we’ll select your book, but if we read it and like it, I’ll be sure to post about it on my blog and on social media. I’d also love to conduct some author interviews, not only to share information about the book, but to teach interviewing skills to our students.  

And to all the teachers out there, please reach out if you’d like to hear more about our One Book journey. I’m happy to share advice regarding how to start your own One Book program, as well as lists of suggested titles, discussion questions, and strategies for increasing engagement. 

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