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Child of the Wolves
Granite, a Siberian husky puppy, is all alone in the Alaskan forest after escaping from his kennel. Each moment of his life is threatened until Snowdrift, a great white wolf, welcomes him into a wolf pack. But Granite must earn his place among the wolf tribe by facing vicious attacks from the other wolves, the human wolf hunters, and the constant challenges of the frozen forest.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
17 people are currently reading
1446 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Hall
78 books14 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Elizabeth Hall is the author of college text books, psychology books, young adult and children's novels, a former managing editor with Psychology Today and the former Editor-In-Chief of Human Nature.
Since being taught the alphabet at age two in an unorthodox manner, Ms. Hall's literary achievements have spanned five decades. She continues her adventures in both the literary world and in her personal life, whether white-water rafting, studying wolves, or braving the Alaskan countryside.
Source: Author's website.
Elizabeth Hall is the author of college text books, psychology books, young adult and children's novels, a former managing editor with Psychology Today and the former Editor-In-Chief of Human Nature.
Since being taught the alphabet at age two in an unorthodox manner, Ms. Hall's literary achievements have spanned five decades. She continues her adventures in both the literary world and in her personal life, whether white-water rafting, studying wolves, or braving the Alaskan countryside.
Source: Author's website.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
July 17, 2013
Mixed feelings. I'm too old for this, but I remember just how much I liked it when I was in the target demographic. I was intrigued by the fact that life as a wolf has as many rules as life as a person. Everyone's all, "Oh, to be an animal would be sweet, doing what I want all the time!" But not so much. I read this one again for old time's sake, and I think now I'll pass it on to some other little rugrat to enjoy. Spreadin' the love…
March 14, 2018
Its always fun re-reading books I loved as a kid. It shows me how bad of a memory I have! I appreciated that Granite wasn't another "alpha dog in a wolf's world" as so many of these types of books create the main character to be. Instead its just about him finding a place he belongs. He even has natural shortcomings as a dog! (such as too short of legs, or the curly tail)
August 26, 2021
I first read Child of the Wolves so long ago that I didn't even remember that I had a copy, and I thought it might be a nice nostalgic re-read. It is a good story and you can really feel for Granite and all the wolves, but I didn't find myself awash in a flood of nostalgic memories either. In fact I remembered very little about the story, even though I'm sure I read it at least twice before.
There are some lovely descriptive passages, and it was smart to not have the animals literally speak to each other. It helps immerse you more in the mind of an animal, and imagine what it would be like to think without the benefit of words. After Granite runs away, there are very few appearances by humans. But there is one with some hunters on a plane, told from the nature-loving pilot's perspective. This scene is very clunky and does not blend well with the rest of the plot. The hunters are cartoonishly stupid(don't most people know that wolves can be colors other than gray?) and the message of people's ignorance about wolves is too ham-fisted. It would have been better to leave most of their dialogue out and let the story speak for itself here.
Child of the Wolves is a sweet and believable dog story, but may hold up better for young readers than for adults. It would be perfect for kids who love animals and aren't quite ready yet for something like The Call of the Wild. I'll probably pass my copy on to someone who will love it and remember it more than I have.
There are some lovely descriptive passages, and it was smart to not have the animals literally speak to each other. It helps immerse you more in the mind of an animal, and imagine what it would be like to think without the benefit of words. After Granite runs away, there are very few appearances by humans. But there is one with some hunters on a plane, told from the nature-loving pilot's perspective. This scene is very clunky and does not blend well with the rest of the plot. The hunters are cartoonishly stupid(don't most people know that wolves can be colors other than gray?) and the message of people's ignorance about wolves is too ham-fisted. It would have been better to leave most of their dialogue out and let the story speak for itself here.
Child of the Wolves is a sweet and believable dog story, but may hold up better for young readers than for adults. It would be perfect for kids who love animals and aren't quite ready yet for something like The Call of the Wild. I'll probably pass my copy on to someone who will love it and remember it more than I have.
January 19, 2019
Granite is a Siberian husky, born in Alaska. When he is about to be sold, he runs away into the wilderness where he comes across a wolf, Snowdrift – a mom who has recently lost all her puppies to humans who have stolen them away. Snowdrift takes on Granite, though the other wolves in the pack mostly don’t like him much. As Granite grows, he learns more and more about how to fit in with the pack.
This is told from Granite’s point of view and I really enjoyed it. There is an author’s note at the start that talks about animal intelligence and emotions and she obviously wanted to show that in this book. It did take some time for Granite to learn how to behave as a wolf, as it didn’t come naturally to the dog. I really liked this children’s story.
This is told from Granite’s point of view and I really enjoyed it. There is an author’s note at the start that talks about animal intelligence and emotions and she obviously wanted to show that in this book. It did take some time for Granite to learn how to behave as a wolf, as it didn’t come naturally to the dog. I really liked this children’s story.
January 30, 2021
Not what I was expecting, but it was good book. Only thing that felt odd was the names of the wolves as they were essentially wild animals. However, without the names there would have been no way to easily identify them. It was definitely a quick read with nice short chapters.
December 9, 2020
This is one of the books that I had read as a child and parts of it have always stuck with me since it isn't only a book about a dog trying to fit in and survive but also a coming-of-age story. And for those who enjoy the Classics but have children who struggle to read those more complex reads this is a wonderful example of a book that can be read in place of Jack London's Call of the Wild at least until they are ready to tackle the more mature book.
Honestly I would say that due to its length and content this could be considered more of a junior book rather Young Adult but there are some parts that aren't sugarcoated such as the start of the book is about Seppala bearing her pups in the world. Although not totally graphic or descriptive to the point it still gives a reader a pretty good idea about what is going on rather matter-of-factly.
Elizabeth Hall does a great job in providing a beautiful background for her story that is well researched although some of the things that the wolves do may be a bit more questionable to me from a scientific viewpoint. Otherwise the characters are definitely well-developed and have personalities although with the exception of the humans at the start of the book there is no actual conversations from any of the animals but you truly have an understanding of what is going on in each episode shown. Furthermore the book covers two years but the skipping of the majority of days, weeks and even months isn't blocked in its flow.
And the only other nitpick that I have for this particular book, which is a leftover from my childhood reading, is I never understood the cover art. Basically from the description of Granite and his family the dog on the cover would be more like his brother Digger rather than the protagonist who was described as having a light grayish coat just like his mother.
Definitely this is one of my favorite wild and natural wolf stories while I would definitely recommend it for any young adults who enjoy either coming-of-age stories or wolf nature stories, perhaps even both.
Honestly I would say that due to its length and content this could be considered more of a junior book rather Young Adult but there are some parts that aren't sugarcoated such as the start of the book is about Seppala bearing her pups in the world. Although not totally graphic or descriptive to the point it still gives a reader a pretty good idea about what is going on rather matter-of-factly.
Elizabeth Hall does a great job in providing a beautiful background for her story that is well researched although some of the things that the wolves do may be a bit more questionable to me from a scientific viewpoint. Otherwise the characters are definitely well-developed and have personalities although with the exception of the humans at the start of the book there is no actual conversations from any of the animals but you truly have an understanding of what is going on in each episode shown. Furthermore the book covers two years but the skipping of the majority of days, weeks and even months isn't blocked in its flow.
And the only other nitpick that I have for this particular book, which is a leftover from my childhood reading, is I never understood the cover art. Basically from the description of Granite and his family the dog on the cover would be more like his brother Digger rather than the protagonist who was described as having a light grayish coat just like his mother.
Definitely this is one of my favorite wild and natural wolf stories while I would definitely recommend it for any young adults who enjoy either coming-of-age stories or wolf nature stories, perhaps even both.
January 18, 2018
I read Child of the Wolves by Elizabeth Hall for my school book report. I recommend Child of the Wolves to any student above second grade. I believe that the readers should be above second grade because there are some words that might be hard for younger readers to understand. This is a great book for older kids to read. I think that it really inspires kids and shows them what they can do, even if it’s just for them to just keep trying.
A young husky named Granite was to be adopted, but ran away and found a wolf pack instead. The pack did not like him at first but took care of him to please the pack leader. Granite ran away because he did not want to leave his mother and brothers and sister. The wolf pack accepted him after they saw him save one of their leaders. Then he got a high level of respect. When he grew up he was just like all the other wolves.
I think that this book is inspiring because in the book Granite never gave up on being accepted by the wolf pack. That shows kids that if they never give up they can change their world. That to me is really important for kids to see and know what they can do if they put their heart and soul into it. They can really change the way of things if they just keep trying and never give up. I think that it’s really important to show kids the magic and power of never giving up.
Overall, I think that this book is worth your time and effort. I think that this book is just full of adventure and fun to read. It is great for kids that love animals. Kids will just love this amazing book.
-K.R. a 4th Grader
A young husky named Granite was to be adopted, but ran away and found a wolf pack instead. The pack did not like him at first but took care of him to please the pack leader. Granite ran away because he did not want to leave his mother and brothers and sister. The wolf pack accepted him after they saw him save one of their leaders. Then he got a high level of respect. When he grew up he was just like all the other wolves.
I think that this book is inspiring because in the book Granite never gave up on being accepted by the wolf pack. That shows kids that if they never give up they can change their world. That to me is really important for kids to see and know what they can do if they put their heart and soul into it. They can really change the way of things if they just keep trying and never give up. I think that it’s really important to show kids the magic and power of never giving up.
Overall, I think that this book is worth your time and effort. I think that this book is just full of adventure and fun to read. It is great for kids that love animals. Kids will just love this amazing book.
-K.R. a 4th Grader
November 9, 2012
A young Siberian husky named Granite was born in a litter of four puppies. His mother Seppala gave birth to Granite, Digger, Cricket and Nugget. The setting of the novel would be winter, Middle of April, west of Alaska. He runs away from home, which ends up in him missing his mom, two brothers, and sister. He then ends up in a forest and runs into enemies. When all of a sudden he sees a black form followed by others line along a cliff, turns out to be… a pack of wolves. Will Granite be accepted into the pack or will be frightened and run away? Find out in the novel Child of the Wolves.
The author Elizabeth Hall describes what the story is about very well and also the characters. When she describes what the wolves look like she was very descriptive. My suggestion of this book is if you like books about wolves, this is the book you will definitely want to read. Also once you read the first two chapters of this book it will definitely leave you itching to read more.
The author Elizabeth Hall describes what the story is about very well and also the characters. When she describes what the wolves look like she was very descriptive. My suggestion of this book is if you like books about wolves, this is the book you will definitely want to read. Also once you read the first two chapters of this book it will definitely leave you itching to read more.
July 31, 2018
This is not quite a children's book, but I enjoy animal stories and this was a very good one.
The author did her homework on wolfpack and dog behavior blending them beautifully in the story. She also captured how beautiful but harsh Alaska's environment can be.
I appreciate the research and hard work the author did to add to the veracity of this fiction story.
The author also did well capturing the attitudes of the people who populate such a wild land and contrasting them to those who might venture into their realm for what the visitors might consider recreation.
The story itself was engaging and a pleasure to read.
I read the paperback version, but went back to Amazon and found a hardcopy version for my library.
Great read for animal lovers for sure.
The author did her homework on wolfpack and dog behavior blending them beautifully in the story. She also captured how beautiful but harsh Alaska's environment can be.
I appreciate the research and hard work the author did to add to the veracity of this fiction story.
The author also did well capturing the attitudes of the people who populate such a wild land and contrasting them to those who might venture into their realm for what the visitors might consider recreation.
The story itself was engaging and a pleasure to read.
I read the paperback version, but went back to Amazon and found a hardcopy version for my library.
Great read for animal lovers for sure.
June 3, 2022
The story of a dog who runs away to the wild and ends up living with wolves. It’s difficult to get to know the characters and to empathise with them, as the animals do not speak to each other. This results in their adventures feeling like they are just being recited to you rather than experienced. It seems as though the author wasn’t quite sure who she was writing for – she seemed to want to avoid a typical children's talking animal story, but at the same time the writing is far too juvenile for it to be aimed at adults. There are also some factual errors (it’s clear from the author’s note that she doesn’t understand taxonomy).
October 1, 2007
This book was beyond what I was expecting when I got it from my grandma for Christmas. It is throught the eyes of a husky puppy as he escapes and is adopted by a wolf pack. He moves up in rank though the book and really surprises you how he grows to be accepted by the pack eventually.
April 19, 2012
I don't like the way the characters don't speak. It makes them seem like stupid animals when they really are intelligent creatures. This is one of the reasons i didn't give it more stars but overall i guess it is a cute book
February 26, 2021
Child of the Wolves is about a Siberian husky puppy named Granite, who escapes from his kennel to escape being bought off. Escaping into the Alaskan wilderness, he eventually becomes part of a pack of wolves - I won't spoil over. I remember reading it when I was very young maybe for a school project, but I never finished it. I found it lying around in my house and I finally got around to reading it, and I'm wondering why the hell didn't I read till the end?
It's a book you'd expect of a lost protagonist joining a new gang or organization, but with named wolves it was that more enjoyable. It's a book certainly targeted for children, but adults can enjoy this just as much as a short read. I liked the descriptive nature of the text, always describing the surroundings as the story goes along. It really adds to the immersive experience. What I didn't like was the chapter titles essentially spoiling what's there to come. I believe just using a number to indicate the chapter would've added more suspense and unknown to what's going to happen next. However the reading experience made up for it, overall a great book!
It's a book you'd expect of a lost protagonist joining a new gang or organization, but with named wolves it was that more enjoyable. It's a book certainly targeted for children, but adults can enjoy this just as much as a short read. I liked the descriptive nature of the text, always describing the surroundings as the story goes along. It really adds to the immersive experience. What I didn't like was the chapter titles essentially spoiling what's there to come. I believe just using a number to indicate the chapter would've added more suspense and unknown to what's going to happen next. However the reading experience made up for it, overall a great book!
April 14, 2020
I bought this in the hopes of something a bit more... comprehensive. The characters don’t speak, every sentence feels cut off, and the lack of description or dialogue removes any weight the story might have. I found myself unable to root for any characters, and not really responsive when things happened to them.
Although this is meant to be a book for a younger audience, I wonder just how young. I might say 6-10, if I were recommending books to kids who very much like animals. Although, if they’re 10, I’d be more likely to recommend Warriors.
The wolves are well-researched... for the time. As of 2020 we know much more about non-captive packs and their behaviors, as well as dog integration and interaction with wolves/packs, so it doesn’t really hold up.
If you have a young kid who likes to read, by all means, recommend them this book. But if they’re at a higher reading level than their peers it may be a frustrating read.
Although this is meant to be a book for a younger audience, I wonder just how young. I might say 6-10, if I were recommending books to kids who very much like animals. Although, if they’re 10, I’d be more likely to recommend Warriors.
The wolves are well-researched... for the time. As of 2020 we know much more about non-captive packs and their behaviors, as well as dog integration and interaction with wolves/packs, so it doesn’t really hold up.
If you have a young kid who likes to read, by all means, recommend them this book. But if they’re at a higher reading level than their peers it may be a frustrating read.
March 3, 2021
I probably would have loved this book as a kid. The point of view is that of a husky pup adopted by a wolf pack. It is NOT a talking animals book, but, you understand their interactions from behavior which is explained by the narrator.
There were a couple unrealistic things in the books- but, most of it was grounded in real wolf behavior.
Overall, good for an animal crazy kid, but, if you are an adult you'd probably prefer Call of the Wild.
There were a couple unrealistic things in the books- but, most of it was grounded in real wolf behavior.
Overall, good for an animal crazy kid, but, if you are an adult you'd probably prefer Call of the Wild.
December 30, 2021
This is a cute charming story of a pup who was taken in by a wolf pack. Granite is such a typical fun loving Husky pup and that makes it hard not to love him. For those giving it low ratings because the pack doesn’t speak and have conversations in human words all I can say is don’t be silly!
There were a few hard parts that even as an adult I didn’t want to read but not all stories can be nothing but sunshine and cupcakes. It’s a great read for the young and the old!
There were a few hard parts that even as an adult I didn’t want to read but not all stories can be nothing but sunshine and cupcakes. It’s a great read for the young and the old!
June 24, 2017
Granite is a puppy who runs away when he gets sold to a stranger. He is lost in the woods. Suddenly, he comes upon a wolf pack. He gets taken into the wolf pack by a wolf named Snowdrift, who has lost her pups. In that pack, he has lots of adventures. Read about them in this book!
This book is great! I couldn't stop reading once I started because it was so interesting!
This book is great! I couldn't stop reading once I started because it was so interesting!
October 25, 2019
A young Siberian husky named Granite was born in a litter of four puppies. His mother Seppala gave birth to Granite, Digger, Cricket, and Nugget. He runs away from home, which ends up him missing his mom, two brothers, and sister. He then ends up in a forest and runs into enemies. Then he needed to find a way of safety.
August 22, 2021
A charming book about a dog adopted by wolves learning to fit in. I loved this book as a kid. While it doesn't hold up to my rose colored nostalgia its still a sweet story. I wish it were actually more detailed and fleshed out but alas it is a children's novel.
August 6, 2025
From a 12yr old girl's perspective: It starts out sad as a Siberian Husky runs away from his kennel. The wolves are a little rough, as that is there nature. He learns to live like the wolves and learns his place in the pack.
March 5, 2018
Loved it. My favorite chapter was Granite Moves Up, because that's my favorite character.
March 5, 2018
This took me right back to my childhood love of Julie of the Wolves. <3
June 5, 2018
On my list of books to get a fresh copy of.
This book is amazing, can't say much more on it in this review yet due to needing a reread, but I remember loving it.
This book is amazing, can't say much more on it in this review yet due to needing a reread, but I remember loving it.
October 19, 2020
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
December 1, 2020
its amazing! my favorite book is child of the wolves, this was recommended to me from my cousin. I wonder if there will be a second book or if there is a second book.
August 8, 2021
What a great story!
January 10, 2023
This is a good book.
May 1, 2023
I learned so much about wolf behavior and dog psychology. I know I know, it's fiction. But the book does inspire me to find out more about how long mama wolves grieve lost pups.
July 7, 2023
Absolutely love this book!!! Childhood favorite
December 4, 2023
I read this as a kid and remember reading it over and over again! I'm not re-reading it as an adult as I'm sure my rating would change, but my younger self would no doubt give 5 stars!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews