When the Wolves Returned: Restoring Nature's Balance in Yellowstone

by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent, Dan Hartman (Illustrator)

Yellowstone National Park's majestic geologic wonders and remarkable wildlife draw millions of visitors each year. But there was a time when these natural treasures were in great danger, all because after years of unrestricted hunting, one key piece of the puzzle had been eliminated—the wolf.

Now, more than a decade after scientists realized the wolves' essential role and returned them to Yellowstone, the park's natural balance is gradually being restored. The informative dual-level text and spectacular full-color photographs show the wolves in the natural habitat that was almost lost without them. Readers of all ages will be inspired by the delicate natural system that is Yellowstone.

Genres: Nonfiction, Picture Books, Animals, Science, Childrens, Nature, Conservation

40 pages, Library Binding

First published May 1, 2008

About the author

As a child, my favorite activity was exploring nature, especially finding animals like frogs, toads, and lizards. I kept tropical fish, had a dog, and loved riding horses. My love of animals led to a Ph.D. degree from U.C. Berkley in Zoology. In grad school I met and married fellow student Greg Patent. Our two sons, David and Jason, were born before we finished school. I wanted to use my training and my knowledge, but I also wanted to raise my sons and be there for them when they needed me. I decided that writing the kind of books I'd always loved reading was a good solution to my dilemma, and that turned out to be true. One of my favorite things is learning new "stuff," and every time I tackle a new book project I get to indulge myself in that passion. I'm a lucky gal!

Fast forward to the present. Our sons are grown and have their own families. We live in Missoula, MT, where Greg is now a food writer (http://www.thebakingwizard.com) and a radio personality (httpp://www.mtpr.org--look for Food Guys). My writing has expanded to other nonfiction topics, especially ones dealing with the Westward Expansion period of U.S. history. I've taught writing classes in many venues, visited schools in most U.S. states, attended many conferences for teachers and librarians, won a number of awards, and had great travel adventures in pursuit of my subject matter.

Reviews

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this book and was please to be able to get a chance to read it while if it hasn't been bought by Friday it will join my collection. The authors do a wonderful job of combining an educational scientific book with a children's pictorial book so that it can be easily read without overwhelming the youngest of audiences.

The facts are presented in a clear and concise manner so that the reader can see the effect of removing a keystone creature from its environment. Each side is presented as to how it affects a creature positively but as a result the bad effects of that positive response so you can get a true feeling of importance of balance that is required in nature.

Furthermore each page has 1-3 pictures involving the subject of that page. The colors are bright and the details are wonderful to see while there are some pictures showing the animals as I have never seen them before shown. If for the lack of anything else I would say the book could be more or less just a pictorial guide to Yellowstone and its inhabitant due to its photographs.

The only thing that dropped this book for me from a 5 to a 4 Stars was the fact that not all the information was given to young readers. I can understand the need to shorten the book only to the most basic of facts to keep children entertained while not overwhelming them but the omission can be important such as grizzlies will take the kill from a wolf pack but the opposite has been seen as well where wolves have driven grizzlies away just as much.

All in all the book will be a wonderful addition to any library seeking to add more environmental books to its shelves or to introduce children to the importance of science. I would also highly recommend it for science teachers or even for a youth program if one is done by Fish & Wildlife or ranger groups who can use it for its educational purposes....

[SaraKat · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction to ecology and how one species can affect another in a chain reaction when something is changed. The story of the wolves changing the river in Yellowstone is a great video and this book fits right in with that theme. The gorgeous full-color pictures are wonderful and the baby pronghorn with buck teeth made me laugh myself silly. There are not any graphic pictures of animal-on-animal violence even though the text says that one animal kills another. That was important to me as I know it happens, but I don't really want to look at pictures of it. A great book that I plan on adding to my science classroom.

This book was used in my children's literature textbook as an example of a book with an immediate reward. The opening page has fantastic pictures and text that sets up Yellowstone as a lovely and wondrous place. This beginning begs readers to turn the page. I did!

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book. I really like wolves and the story of the wolves in Yellowstone has always been one of my favorite examples of how nature operates in a balance. This book really showcases the way that an ecosystem needs every piece of the puzzle to function properly. A well written book that is straightforward and enjoyable at the same time.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prolific Montana children's author Dorothy Hinshaw Patent and father-daughter photography team Dan and Cassie Hartman tell the story of the reintroduction of wolves back into Yellowstone National Park in this engaging non-fiction picture book. Period and contemporary photographs capture the wildlife in the park, while the narrative describes the disastrous effect on the ecosystem of the disappearance of wolves, who were hunted to extinction in the area by 1926. With no keystone species to keep the elk population in check, the resulting overgrazing changed many things—destroying trees and the species which depended upon them, and drastically changing the rivers and ponds in the area. The return of the wolves in 1995 began a slow process of restoration, whereby the diversity of both flora and fauna was increased, and the overall health of the region improved. The book closes with a note about the photographs used, a list of further resources and an index...

Published in 2008, When the Wolves Returned: Restoring Nature's Balance in Yellowstone is the third picture book I have read about this rewilding project, following upon Jean Craighead George and Wendell Minor's The Wolves Are Back , which was published the same year, and Rosanne Parry & Jennifer Thermes' The Wolf Effect: A Wilderness Revival Story , published last year (2024). Unlike those other two titles, which were accompanied by illustrative artwork, this one featured photographs, most of them taken by the Hartmans in Yellowstone, but a few of them historical. I appreciated this, as so few picture books I come across these days, even non-fiction ones, are illustrated with photographs. While I don't usually prefer this, aesthetically speaking, in this case I thought it gave the book an immediacy and a sense of realism that was greatly appreciated. Apparently Dan Hartman is well known as a professional nature photographer, and for many years maintained a small photo gallery in his small Montana village, on the border of Yellowstone. In any case, I did enjoy this one, which I read along with the more recent The Wolves of Yellowstone: A Rewilding Story (my fourth picture book on the subject).

[Amanda Hegel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great on explaining how ecosystems work and what yellowstone national park looks like. It is very informational and has real photographed pictures of the past on every page. Children can read this book in science class to learn about national parks and the role of wolves/ keystone species in an ecosystem.

[Bradley]

Wolves are my favorite animal. They're also the animal I fear the most.

Just a small case of we do not know what we do. Who can say when and where we've left lasting effects. To see the turnaround in Yellowstone feels like a victory. A lesson learned.

The circle of life, oh yeah baby!

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A terrific story of the importance of the food chain, the natural hierarchy of predator and prey, and the evolution that has taken place in Yellowstone National Park. Illustrated with photos of the animals involved. I'll be including this one in the collection for homes and habitats.

[Pamela Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This well-written book highlights the negative changes that occurred when the wolves were removed from Yellowstone National Park in the 1920's and the positive changes that occurred when they were reintroduced. Beautiful photographs.

[Jeanette Hargreaves · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book for families and children to help us understand systems and how they work.

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really nicely written and illustrated (with photographs) informational text about the interconnectedness of life in Yellowstone.

[Lauren Phelps]

This could be an accessible resource for students when writing an informative/research essay.

[Julianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story about the importance of wolves in Yellowstone and how, once again, white ppl mess everything up.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific information about the changes in Yellowstone’s ecosystem when wolves were removed, and later, re-introduced. Unfortunately the book’s font and graphics look a little dated.

[Amie · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the Wolves Returned: Restoring Nature’s Balance in Yellowstone by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent is an informative trade book for read-alouds and silent reading. It recently won the 2009 NSTA Outstanding Trade Book Award for grades one through seven. The NSTA honors books that are informative and comprehensive, as well as a great source to apply or extend lessons. Horn Book adds that When the Wolves Returned includes “outstanding historical and present-day photographs of Yellowstone, its inhabitants, and its visitors [that:] capture the rugged natural beauty of the park.” Most of the present- day photographs were taken by the father- daughter team of Dan and Cassie Hartman. These photographs of the animals of Yellowstone are beautiful and add a lot to the straightforward text. Patent starts the book over one hundred years ago when Yellowstone opened as the first national park. She then goes on to explain that wolves were hunted and killed in the early days because park officials did not understand that they were a very important part of the park’s ecosystem. Once the wolves were gone, it threw the ecosystem off balance which had a major negative effect on many of the plants and animals at Yellowstone. The book goes on to explain in detail these negative effects and the benefits of bringing the wolves back into Yellowstone in 1995. When the Wolves Returned is visually attractive with a huge color photographs that take up almost two-thirds of each double-page spread. On the photograph is a clear and concise sentence that moves the story forward. This sentence is placed inside a bordered text box which makes it easy for the younger reader to find and read. The other one-third of the spread is taken up with two to three smaller color photographs and a small paragraph of more in depth information. This text is also easy to find and read because it is placed in the same spot on each page. While each page is effectively organized, I found some faults with this book. None of the photographs are labeled which could be frustrating to readers who want to know the names of certain unfamiliar animals. Also, this book is intended as a dual-level text, but the text for lower-level readers does not move the story along the same way higher-level text does. The easy text does not explain the “why” – it only explains the “what” so students never fully understand how important wolves are to Yellowstone’s ecosystem. The end page includes resources for the photos as well as all the information given in the book. One highlight of the book is a quiz, titled The Wolf Effect, made up of small animal photos that have the reader think back to how the wolves’ return impacted each animal. Overall, I liked this informational text and think it is a great way to have a discussion about how the removal or extinction of one animal can affect so many other animals and plants.

[Carolyn Combs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief description: When The Wolves Returned, written by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent and photographed by Dan Hartman and Cassie Hartman, tells the true story of the wolves' disappearance and reappearance in Yellowstone National Park. Readers come to understand the wolves' history and how even a single animal can have a profound cascading effect on an entire ecosystem, on everything from bears to beavers to willow trees.

What I love about this book: The gorgeous spreads of photographs, both historical and present, riveted my eyes to the pages, and took me back to my visit to Yellowstone. The two layers of text, one short and simple, another adding details, make this a versatile book for sharing with both younger and older elementary children. In addition to showing the concepts of tropic levels and food webs, this book also is also filled with clear examples of topic sentences and supporting details. An engrossing straight ahead read about wolves that neither demonises nor glorifies them, but rather shows their importance.

[Evette · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the Wolves Returned: Restoring Nature's Balance in Yellowstone. This book mainly focuses on Yellowstone located in Wyoming. In the beginning this was a place where nature could naturally just take its course, with little human interference. Yellowstone then became “the world’s first national park.” This park was made for people, so that people could enjoy the park and all its natural wonders. In the beginning when this park first became a national park people were allowed to hunt at it and even cut down the trees. The people thought no harm of it, and in the beginning it really was no harm since not very many people went. But as more people started to go, it became more noticeable that the humans were harming this park. The hunters hunted deer, but they were also paid to kill the wolves since the wolves were eating the deer that the humans enjoyed. At one point there was no more wolves left, humans thought that was perfect they thought wolves were not of importance. Soon after there was no wolves there were too many elk since the wolves were no longer eating them, then coyotes became the top predator and they just would eat everything. But they could since wolves were no longer there to stop them. That was throwing off all the rest of the animals residing in the park as well. So they finally realized that since the wolves were gone problems had been starting, so they brought some wolves back. So once the wolves were back the whole park eventually went back to normal. This is all part of natural causes and effects which is informational for kids and a good thing to learn.

[Jessica Lynch · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the wolves returned:Restoring nature's Balance in Yellowstone is about how the when the wolves were killed off in Yellowstone all the other animals and plants suffered from it. After years of down fall, park rangers finally decide to introduce the wolves back into Yellowstone.

This book is accurate, authentic, and organized. It explains how the wolves affected each animal in Yellowstone. It was authentic because it used real pictures. It is organized because it starts out with a short history of Yellowstone and then moves on to the how the wolves were prominent. It then goes on to talk about how when the wolves were killed off the other animals started to swell and damage the land and prey. The book is appealing to young readers because it uses real pictures of animals that live in Yellowstone. The writing style is clear because she uses easy words so that younger readers can understand the book. The enthusiasm in the book is very good because the author sends the vibe that she is really passionate about the animals in Yellowstone and that everyone should be.

This book would be good to use in a classroom in a lesson about wolves or a lesson about Yellowstone National Park.

[Kathy Roderer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a beautiful photo essay and true story of the demise and reintroduction of the wolves to Yellowstone. It shows the importance of the wolves to the natural balance of the ecosystem in Yellowstone Park. It takes the reader through the gradual elimination of the wolves over the years and how that affected the habitats and welfare of other animals, trees, and plants. Scientists eventually realized that the absence of the wolf in the park may have been causing problems for the other species. Although it was a controversial policy, it has been successful in helping the park to regain its natural balance. The photographs are spectacular. The text is white print on a black background, which adds to the drama of the photographs. A photo-web of the food chain in the back of the book shows how the wolf impacts other living things.

[Sara Shelton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This specific book talks about a time in history when wolves were eliminated from Yellowstone National Park. The reason were because humans believed they were the cause of the natural system being out of balance. However as the book continues the reader learns that due to the elimination of wolves in result led to an overpopulation of elk, coyotes and how wolves actually played an essential role to the Yellowstone environment. As the book ends wolves were brought back to the national park in 1996 and restored natures balance in Yellowstone. The illustrations in this specific story very stimulating and included a great deal on the Yellowstone wolves. I loved how this was a very informational book and was based on true events throughout history. I believe that this specific book would be good to use in a classroom for students who are interested in the history of Yellowstone and wolves.

[Roxanne Hsu Feldman · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's simple and informative and it deals with an important and "educative" message -- although the text is a little dry. I much prefer the text by Jean Craighead George in a similarly titled book about the same topic: The Wolves Are Back, published this same year!!! The decision to break the text into one sentence boxes and a couple of paragraphs on the opposing page to explain the "topic sentences" also do not help with the flow. Some of the photographs are breathtaking but many of the larger photos are blurry due to enlargement. There is no caption for any of the photographs but one can see fairly clearly that they serve as bylines to the text. It will be a good addition to a classroom that emphasizes the balancing acts of the ecosystem.

[Jessica Deboer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever since I was a teenager I have been intrigued by wolves and the importance they have to the circle of life, so Patent's book held a special interest for me. The photographs by Dan and Cassie Hartman were the best idea for this nonfiction book. I also liked the way Patent took us through the removal and return in one sentence snapshots, but then went deeper in the corner of each spread. I found it easy to follow and liked the choice to just read the snapshots or to read more information.

This will fit in well with my environmental themed text set and I think both my low and high middle school readers will find it interesting. Again, that choice of how much you can read to get information will be appealing to many different readers.

[Wendy Kendall · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the Wolves Returned is a short overview of the wolves’ return to Yellowstone. This is a great book to share with children as well. It clearly shows how “the balance of nature is always changting. But when all the pieces of the puzzle are present, the extremes are eliminated. Today Yellowstone is working its way back to a changing but healthy system, thanks to the wolves’ return.” The story is told through captions to beautiful, artistic photography by Dan Hartman and Cassie Hartman. They are a very talented father-daughter photography team who live on the northeast border of the park. Dan’s work has been published by National Geographic and many other places. You can see some of his work at www.wildlifealongtherockies.homestead...

[Megan Pando · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the wolves returned: Restoring natures balance, is a very informative book that wastes no time delving into the issue at hand. This book does an excellent job of stressing the importance of every living creature in its given ecosystem. The author does an wonderful job explaining how the ecosystem functions as a unit and how all living creatures have and impact one another and on their non living environment. This book discusses how so often we do not respect wildlife. For example, the book gives an account of when hunters were hired to kill the wolves of yellowstone for doing what comes natural to them, hunting elk.

[Laura Sims · Rating 4 out of 5]

This non-fiction picture book uses simple text to tell the story of a time when the wolves of Yellowstone National Park were nearly hunted to extinction. This book explains how the ecosystem was almost devastated by the imbalance of the natural predator from the region. When scientists figured out the critical role of the wolves to the balance of the area, the population has slowly been reintroduced to the area. The book moves along at a very natural pace, explaining what happened and how it's coming back. The book is beautifully illustrated and even younger students should be able to understand the text.

[Karen Gedeon · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books to teach kids about the importance of all members of a food chain whether we like all the members in it or not. Through beautiful pictures, simple language and easy to follow explanations the author takes the reader on a journey like no other. No where else can the reader see first hand the chain of evens to so many species when a predator is removed from an ecosystem and then how the ecosystem re-adapts when it is returned. Complete with an index, a 'for more information' section and even a reader quiz on the end pages, this is a must have for every public and school library with students in grades 3-6 who study the food chain.

[Katherine Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

The photographs of Yellowstone National Park are incredible in this book! Students interested in geology and natural habitat conservation will find the facts on animals, plants and terrain fascinating in this book. The author uses the Yellowstone National Park as the background, but the story mostly focuses on the wolves' important role in the park's environment. Students reading this book will be able to learn more about the wolves and also about how equilibrium and the food chain works in the wild.

[Stacy Countee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells how at one point in time the natural system was out of balance because of the elimination of wolves. The wolves affected each animal in Yellowstone, but once they were killed off the other animals began to destroy the land.

Students in grades 3rd through 5th will enjoy this book because it is an easy read and uses real pictures. Actual pictures of Yellowstone throughout history are shown in the book. A lesson explaining the ecosystem and the importance of living things in our environment could be done with students.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really lovely step-by-step book about what went wrong in Yellowstone's ecosystem and how they're beginning to fix it. I like that it doesn't use any scientific words like ecosystem that might create barriers for young kids, but it doesn't talk down to kids at the same time. It seems like a book that a lot of different ages of elementary school kids could get something from. The photographs are great too.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great non-fiction book that includes historical and contemporary photos. Very clearly explains the ecological cycle of life and why the abscence of wolves in Yellowstone was bad and why their return is good. The cycle of life diagram on the end pages is nice too - reinforces how important predators are to the cycle.

[Lindseychr · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a informational non-fiction book that tells of the time period when Yellowstone kicked out all of their wolves. This had a great impact on many different animals and also plants. I did not mind the story and the pictures were fabulous. It was highly educational as I had no idea something like this had happened. I only gave it 3 stars because I liked it, I didn't REALLY like it.