Wolf in the Snow by Cordell, Matthew by Marissa Posada

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Justification: The first reason I chose this book was because it was a Caldecott Medal winner. The next reason I chose this book was because I like dogs and wolves in general. I also liked the art style since it reminds me of the art style in Foald Dahl's books. I also don't think that I have ever 'read' a book like this before. I thought it would be an intresting challenge.

Evaluation: This book is a good example of using illustrations to extend or develop the plot. There are very few words if an at all on each page. The whole story is told through illustrations. The child leaves school and finds a wolf pup during a snow storm, which is depicted with more and more white on the page. As the child looks for the pup's family it shows how far they travel to find the family, by using a two page spread of the child traveling. It also shows how even though the child goes in the direction of home, they still get lost in the trees. It then ends with the resolution of the child at home with her parents.

Since this story has few words, the illustrations have to establish the setting. This is very important for the plot of this book. The story starts with the child leaving and and then school with it lightly snowing, but you can still the the ground. As the child and wolves move the snow gets thicker and eventually the child and wolf pup get lost. The setting is eventually changed the ground to completely white snow with only trees sticking out. The next instance where establishing setting was essential to the plot is when the child heads in the direction of the searchlights and barking; she still gets 'lost' in the trees. The story also starts and ends with the whole family inside the home together.

This book uses the quality of understatement. There are a total of 44 words and most of them are sounds. Although, those few words help to clarify what is going on in the story. One of the best instances is when the child hears the howling after she finds the pup. She hears howling in the distance and the author uses not even words just "?..." to signify her confusion. The howling also helps the story. Initially the howling was small and in the distance. As the child gets closer to the pack the text of howling also gets bigger. Another thing the text understates is when the child leaves home and the dog barks, signifying that barking equals home. So when the child is trying to return home, she goes in the direction of the barking because that should be where home is.

Response: I can relate to the book because I am not good with directions. Even when I use my phone for directions I can still get lost. This book strengthened my belief that even if you get lost, eventually you will make it home. Although, I doubt a wolf pack would be so helpful if I get lost. It also reinforced the importance of family, for both the child and wolf pup were able to return to their family. I really enjoyed this book for entertainment. The art itself was not special, but it was perfect to tell a story with. It was a cute story about getting lost in a snow storm and finding your way home.

Conclusion:This book has great examples of illustrations extending or developing the pot, establishing the plot and using understatement for the text. This is a great easy reading book for those whoare starting to read. There is not a lot of text, but the illustrations make it easy for anyone to follow the plot. I recommend this to anyone who wants a child to start reading.

APA Citation: Cordell, M. (2017). Wolf in the snow. New York: Feiwel and Friends.