A no word picture book with a little kid who was out walking in a snowstorm and found a wolf pup out in the snow. The kid went out to return the pup to its pack When the kid did the pack alerted the family to find the lost kid.

Amazing. Quiet, cozy, beautiful artwork...meanings extend across species and time. ( )

2018 Caldecott Medal Winner

Cordell's pen and ink with watercolor illustrations bring to life this mostly wordless story of a girl lost out in the snow who saves a wolf pup, then is saved in turn.

The people in the story appear in brightly colored, triangular snow suits, while the natural features around them and the wolves keep to cooler shades.

It's told in an almost-comic-book fashion, but I would definitely still describe it as a picture book. I liked the tension of the scene where the girl meets the mother of the wolf pup, then the mother moves off peacefully once she has her baby back.

Lily enjoyed me describing what was happening in the story to her. ( )

Awards: Caldecott Medal, Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best
Independent Reading Level: Grades K-2

Red Riding Hood turned inside out. If only we lived in a world where beings could live in harmony, readily coming to the aid of each other. And, erm, if only Cordell had chosen to draw the people a little bit more appealingly... the wolves and snow are appropriately gorgeous so why are the people weird? ( )

This book had barely any words so it was a little boring and you had to infer what was going on in the book.

This book is about a girl who gets lost in the snow during a blizzard, finds a wolf, and ends up meeting a whole pack of wolves who help her find her way home and feel safe.
This book is a great book for retelling the story and for kids to ask questions and discover. This book is mostly wordless and has beautiful illustrations that tell many stories in one. ( )

Book about a girl and baby wolf, who are lost in the snow. The girl picks up the wolf and brings it back to her family, but as the girl is trying to find her way back home she gets tired and falls down. The wolves howl, so the girls family finds her and brings her home safely. This book would be great to show children, that doing a good deed, even when it seems hard, will help you out later when you need it the most.

This book is about a girl who gets lost in a snowstorm on the way home from school. A wolf pup gets separated from its pack, and with each other's help, they find their way back to where they belong. This book would be useful in a classroom to teach students to identify meaning with illustrations and spark imaginations.

independent reading level: Grade PK-3
awards/honors: Caldecott Medal (2018), Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Nominee for Picture Book (2017) ( )

This wook was so amazing I definitely want it in my classroom. This book was about a young girl who saves a wolf pup and then she needs the wolves to save her when it gets too dark and cold. Perfect for any age of kids. There are not many words and it focuses a lot on the illustrations

Independent Reading Level: All ages!
Awards: Caldecott Medal (2018), Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Nominee for Picture Book (2017)

A little girl and her dog get lost in the snow after going on an innocent walk. The dog befriends a pack of wolves that sees they are struggling and helps the girl and her dog back to their house. ( )

This book was released in 2017 and received the Caldecott Medal in 2018. It's a short picture book aimed at young children. The book is nearly wordless and expresses all of its narrative through pictures alone.

Story Overview

A child and young wolf are separated from their communities and must survive a snowstorm.

Lessons

Wolf in the Snow is a story of compassion. Despite the danger and a possible great expense to themselves, the young child in the story protects the wolf against the storm. The story shows children how to act kindly and think about the well being of others. Depending on your cultural background, the story can be a lesson on karma or the "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" mindset. It shows that good deeds can be rewarded with a net good for all involved.

Praises and Critiques

The story is spellbinding despite its lack of words. The art style is lovely and the overall story is heartwarming. However, this book should be seen as an entertainment piece. Since there are no words in the book, it is not meant for early readers practice and is really not meant for story time. It is a book children can explore on their own and is best experienced with no more than a one child/one parent grouping. Given the pictures and the way the narrative is set up, it may take some children longer than others to grasp what is going on depending on how many different ages are in the group. That's not to say the book lacks value. I think the message of unlikely allies aiding each other to survive and the general feeling of compassion that emanates from the book makes it worthy of at least a perusal. It's simply a book best suited for fun, rather than a way to build reading skill. For younger children, it may be best also to clarify not to approach animals they think need help, as not all are as friendly as the wolf in this story.

Takeaway

Wolf in the Snow is an impactful narrative that can entertain adults and children alike. The heartwarming story of two young allies helping each other and the high stakes of survival make it a captivating read that I believe everyone should read. ( )

Wolf in the Snow won the Caldecott Medal in 2018. When that first happened, my reaction (as I recall) was one of being stupefied. I wasn't sure about it in the least. Knowing it was a wordless picture book, I REALLY wondered about it. But that is what the Caldecott Medal is about--how do the illustrations tell the story.

It's the story of a child who goes missing. And the pack of wolves nearby. I do not want to give too much away ;) The only words come in the form of actions (i.e. "huff" "growl") Children really have to be the ones to tell the story to you.

So believe it or not, it works as an Early Literacy extensision. Sharing wordless picture books is a huge component of early literacy. HUGE. Because it forces the child to tell you the story. There is no right or wrong. They are using language skills in retelling. They are using words new to them. They are fostering their imaginations. All of this fosters learning to read.
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I would recommend this to younger students. This is a wordless book that shows the story of a wolf pup and a girl who are in a snow storm. This would be good in the classroom because it is wordless so students have to use more of their imagination to interpret what is happening and can create their own story.

This book would be best for Kindergarten and first grade. This book is about a little girl who gets stuck in a snow storm along with a little wolf pup who is also lost. She helps the wolf pup find it's family and then her family comes to find her. This book could be used in the classroom to teach about doing kind things for others, but the simplicity and the fact that it is wordless might make it difficult. This book might lend itself better to independent reading time. ( )

This wordless picture book is a story of a lost wolf and a lost little girl who travel through the snow to get back to their families. I think I would use this story especially with EL students and ask what they notice about the story or to write their own words along with the pictures. I would put this book in my 1st to 3rd grade classroom! ( )

This book is a great wordless picture book to read if you want to leave it up to your imagination, there is a storyline that you can follow along but it also has room to create your own thoughts. ( )

Take a look under the dust jacket at the boards if you can. The boards of the hardcover are illustrated with comic-style frames depicting the two families from the book (one on the front board, one on the back), but the images are not directly from the story. Instead, they're more complementary, almost like prequel or sequel to the story.

The art style is not my favorite. (All the humans look like triangles or sometimes stars when in their winter coats, for one.) However, I think it's an appealing and relatable art style for kids. (Also, I think I may have read some other books by Cordell and don't recall thinking that about them.)

This book is classed as a the wordless picture book, although it does have some words throughout. Those words are almost entirely noises, though, and not essential to the plot (since they are conveyed through the art, too), so it counts as a wordless story.

The plot is a bit scary, probably more so for grown-ups than for kids, since grown-ups are (1) more aware of the possibility or likelihood of getting lost in the wilderness and (2) more conscious of the consequences that can occur from getting lost in the wilderness, especially in winter. If this were a grown-up book, I would not have been sure there'd be a happy ending! ( )

When I initially picked up this book, I assumed it was a little red riding hood story, but I was so pleasantly surprised by what I found in its pages. A charming story about good deeds returned with illustrations that communicate a range of emotions throughout the development of the story. Nearly-wordless, this book packs a punch in the visual story telling of a girl in a red hood and her family, and a lost wolf cub and its pack.

Really beautiful, but some of the images and situations were a bit too scary for my three-year-old. ( )

A girl is lost in a snowstorm. A wolf cub is lost, too. How will they find their way home?

One of those stars is entirely due to my love of wolves.... ( )

This book tells the story of a little girl who gets lost in the snow on her way home from school and runs into a wolf pup who is also lost, and they help each other find their way back to their parents. This is a book without words, and the beautiful illustrations tell the story really well. This book would be appropriate for early readers. ( )