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WOLFSTONGUE

Sam Thompson

Wolfstongue tells the story of a boy with speech problems -- inspired by the author's own son -- who enters a hidden world of talking animals. He befriends a family of wolves who have been enslaved by foxes, and the boy must face his struggle with words to win back the wolves' freedom.

Deep in the Forest, the foxes live in an underground city. They didn't build it themselves: led by Reynard the fox, they enslaved wolves to do the work. By teaching language to the wolves, the foxes have manipulated them with the power of speech.

One day, Isengrim (the wolve) gets injured. He is helped by a boy, Silas. Silas finds speaking difficult - except when in the company of the wolves. When the foxes kidnap the wolf pups and imprison them in their underground city, Silas is determined to help his new wolf companions to rescue their young.

The wolves tell Silas the legend of the Wolfstongue, a human child who speaks on behalf of wolves. Silas faces his difficulty with language and uses his voice to undermine Reynard's power. Together Silas and the wolves destroy the foxes' city and rescue the pups.

Illustrations by Anna Tromop.

DER JUNGE, DER MIT DEN WoeLFEN SPRICHT
Deutsch von Ingo Herzke
[HC Thienemann 02/2022]
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Published 2021-05-01 by Little Island Books

Comments

It may sound like standard fantasy stuff, but the writing raises this to classic status. Like Ursula K Le Guin's immortal Earthsea books, Wolfstongue is partly about language -- in this case a sinister power that deprives animals of their natural freedom. Gripping and profound, Wolfstongue may be for children but it is about being human. -- Amanda Craig for New Statesman Read more...

Review New Statesman

This wonderful tale from Little Island Books, a small, independent children's publishing house in Dublin that punches well above its weight, has all the makings of a modern classic with its exhilarating mix of ancient fable and contemporary issues. ... Not since Watership Down have animal dynamics felt so true and the political undertones so live [...] predict howls of approval -- and prizes. -- Alex O'Connell in her review of Wolfstongue, Children's Book of the Week in The Times. Read more...

Review The Times (London)

Wolfstongue unfolds from Silas's perspective, which gives the book an inward feel. He's not the bubbly,bantering sort of point-of-view character (the book's somber, old-fashioned black-and-white drawings, by theNorwegian illustrator Anna Tromop, intensify the mood). There are some hard choices in his story, andThompson's writing vividly conveys the force with which nature and wildness strike an introverted city boy. -- The New York Times

Review The New York Times