Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher
Categories
Children’s, Teenage & Educational

OLD WOLF

Avi Brain Floca

Hunting—the predator, and its prey—is at the heart of this riveting and suspenseful novel from Newbery Medalist Avi with illustrations from Caldecott Medalist Brian Floca.

In the computer game world of Bow Hunter—Casey’s world—there are no deaths, just kills. In the wolf world—Nashoba’s world—there have been no kills. For this is March, the Starving Time in the Iron Mountain region of Colorado, when wolves and ravens alike are desperate for food. With the help of a raven, the miraculous Merla, Nashoba must lead his pack of eight to a next meal. The wolf hates being dependent on a mere bird, but Merla is a bird wise beyond her years. And when thirteen-year-old Casey crosses their path, two very different approaches to hunting collide. Avi is the author of more than fifty books for children and young adults, including the 2003 Newbery medal winner Crispin: The Cross of Lead. He has won two Newbery Honors and many other awards for his fiction. He lives with his family in Denver, Colorado. Visit him at Avi-Writer.com. Brian Floca is the author and illustrator of Locomotive, winner of the 2013 Caldecott Medal; Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11, a Robert F. Sibert Honor Book and a New York Times Best Illustrated Book; Lightship, also a Sibert Honor Book; and Racecar Alphabet, an ALA Notable Children’s Book. He has illustrated Avi’s Poppy Stories, Kate Messner’s Marty McGuire novels, and Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan’s Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring, a Sibert Honor Book and winner of the Orbis Pictus Award. You can visit him online at BrianFloca.com.

Available products
Book Published 2015-08-01 by Atheneum/Dick Jackson Books / S&S

Comments

Two stories, one animal, one human, set in early spring in the Lodgepole National Forest and environs, converge dramatically in this brief, engaging novel… The narrative's alternating points of view create tension, and the anthropomorphic portrayal of the animals, found in many of Avi's previous books, heighten the drama as wolf and boy come face to face. Fast paced and exciting, this accessible novel will appeal to those who enjoy adventure stories.

Avi switches perspective between Nashoba and Casey, building the tension and raising a multitude of questions in this thought-provoking allegory.

to Booklight (Korea), Jieli (China)

A brilliant, tension-filled, coming-of-age tale for young readers and tweens about friction between the young, strong, and impulsive and the old and wise. It’s a tale of life and death…. The story shows how video games can have a terribly desensitizing effect on young players. In real life, death is final…. But in Casey’s favorite game, every animal he kills soon reappears. Nothing is lost. That video game has in no way prepared Casey for the encounter that is just steps away.

A modern-day fable intertwines the stories of a young boy and an old wolf…. Overall, a fine tale that will benefit from being sifted for all its meanings.

Part survival story and part coming-of-age tale… The book's short chapters and steadily rising suspense will appeal to even the most reluctant readers. More seasoned readers will appreciate the story's different levels of meaning and subtle themes beyond the central man-versus-nature conflict.