In contrast to other tales of wolves and little red-hooded girls, this story gives a message of mutual respect and care. The main character is strong, brave, and caring, but also vulnerable and able to receive care. In the end, it turns the fairy tale where nature Is the enemy into a parable of caring for nature and the way that nature can respond. Marquard, Peterson (1998). "Food Habits of Arctic Wolves in Greenland". Journal of Mammalogy. 79 (1): 236–244. doi: 10.2307/1382859. JSTOR 1382859. Rizzuto, Lauren (7 December 2017). "Best children's and YA books of 2017". Boston Globe . Retrieved 10 May 2018. We seem eager to be corrected, to know how wrong our ideas about wolves have been, how complex the creature really is, how ultimately unfathomable”—Lopez

Theological Conversation Partners: While this book is not directly religious, it is filled with several themes that connect with faith and scripture. First, the call to care for others is shown most clearly by the little girl and the wolf pup. Her compassion is stirred by his need, and his inability to walk in the deep snow. This reminds me of stories of Jesus having compassion on those who were to weak to help themselves, and also of the parable of the Good Samaritan. She, like the Samaritan, helps someone else at a cost to herself. Which pictures show that she is brave? Which show that she is afraid? Are there pictures that show both at once?Wolf in the Snow is a 2017 wordless picture book by Matthew Cordell. The book was favorably received by critics and won the 2018 Caldecott Medal. The story has drawn comparisons to fairy tales like Little Red Riding Hood. The nearly wordless book tells the story of a girl and wolf who each get lost in the snowstorm. Cordell used distinctive illustration techniques for the girl and the wolf. 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. Lotta: Red Riding Hood is my own Little Red Riding Hood revisioning but for older readers. Also set in the snow, also featuring red as an accent colour. Figurative Language Cards. Use the three included figurative language cards as a poster or cut apart and practice matching the phrase to its meaning. Winner of the Caldecott Medal 2018, Wolf In The Snow is a tale of a little girl who rescues a lost wolf cub in a snowstorm and who, shortly afterwards, finds the wolves rescuing her. It has the feel of a modern-day Aesop’s fable, such as The Lion and the Mouse, where one selfless act of kindness prompts a similarly generous action in return.

a b c "Erin Entrada Kelly, Matthew Cordell win Newbery, Caldecott Medals". ALANews. American Library Association. 12 February 2018 . Retrieved 10 May 2018. 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. 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 On Christmas Day 2016 I read a book, a brilliant book, with many points to ponder but first it will, like all great stories, resonate with and awaken memories in anyone who reads it. This title, Wolf In The Snow (Feiwel and Friends, an imprint of Macmillan, January 3, 2017), written and illustrated by Matthew Cordell is nearly wordless but the artwork speaks with such deepth you can feel its truth and warmth fill you from your head to your toes. It ties the souls of all beings together. It asks us to be our best selves.The girl is dressed in a bright red coat, which will always put readers in mind of Little Red Riding Hood, even more so when she goes into a forest. by Sybille von Olfers for The Story of the Snow Children (1906). (At first glance it may appear the kid is wearing a toilet roll. I believe it is a hand warmer.) I repost this review because this book, one of my favorite books of 2017, was awarded the prestigious Caldecott Medal of 2018! Yay! Miller, Frank (1995). "Wolf-sightings on the Canadian Arctic Islands". Arctic. 48 (4). doi: 10.14430/arctic1253. Chambers SM, Fain SR, Fazio B, Amaral M (2012). "An account of the taxonomy of North American wolves from morphological and genetic analyses". North American Fauna. 77: 1–67. doi: 10.3996/nafa.77.0001. Wolf in the Snow is a mythic journey in which a main character travels a long/treacherous path, meets a variety of opponents and allies, comes close to death then makes it home (or sometimes finds a new home). The path in this case is the journey between school and home one snowy afternoon.

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. Matthew Cordell did a lot of research and talked to scientists to get a better understanding of wolf behavior for his lovely and moving wordless picture book which I really think will appeal to all ages. It is so informed by science that I think I will categorize it as an “informational” book though it is in fact a wordless story.Sverdrup, O. N., (1918), New land; four years in the Arctic regions, Vol. I, London Longmans, Green, pp. 431–432 I'm reading Wolf in the Snow for the first time on February 12, 2018, the day it was announced to have won the Caldecott Medal as the preeminent American picture book of 2017. I'd never read any of Matthew Cordell's work, and that's what I like about the Caldecott awards: being introduced to authors and illustrators I might never come across on my own, who occasionally become favorites. We're treated to an elaborate show of Matthew Cordell's art in Wolf in the Snow, a nearly wordless story of two youngsters stranded outdoors during a snowstorm. Lives hang in the balance as a girl dressed in red and a lost wolf club cross paths in this frozen wasteland. Snow and wordless books go together like hot chocolate and marshmallows. Just off the top of my head there’s The Snowman by Raymond Briggs and The Only Child by Guojing, but look into it sometime. There’s something about a snowfall that gives you a newfound respect for the silent form. Admittedly Mr. Cordell’s book is not wholly wordless. But it is the animals that are allowed to speak in this book. Not the humans. No one reading this book would want there to be any text, though. I’ve read some wordless books that require additional explanation from the parental units reading them. This book is commendable for its clarity. Everything makes sense, even if the characters don’t always do what you think they would. 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).

a b Parravano, Martha (26 September 2017). "Wolf in the Snow". Calling Caldecott. Horn Book . Retrieved 10 May 2018.Mech, L. D., Arctic Wolves and Their Prey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, May 30, 2007 There will always be takes on Little Red Riding Hood because the fairytale speaks to us at such a deep level. FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION Goldman, 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. a b Le, Minh (8 December 2017). "Best Picture Books of 2017". Huffington Post . Retrieved 10 May 2018. Vocab Level 1. Basic vocabulary cards. Use as a poster or cut apart and practice matching the word to the picture.