Tag Archives: A Wolf Called Wander

Farewell to OR 7

It’s with sorrow and also great pride that I bid farewell to a wild wolf who captured the hearts of wildlife watchers everywhere with his strength and determination, and inspired me to write A WOLF CALLED WANDER. When OR 7 was a pup in the Imnaha Pack in northeastern Oregon, wolves were only recently returned to my home state, and we had much to learn about wild wolves and many questions about how they would survive. When OR 7 dispersed from his pack in search of a mate he fired the imagination of the world with his persistence–eventually finding a wolf in southwestern Oregon where none had been seen in more than 80 years.

This is OR 7 captured on a trail camera in 2014.

He and his mate founded the Rogue pack. (Sorry to disappoint Star Wars fans, it was named for the Rogue River watershed where they live.) The pair went on to have pups year after year. Those pups are founding members of California’s first wild wolves in more than a century, the Lassen and Shasta packs. OR 7 has not worn a collar in several years and was last seen on a trail camera in the fall of 2019. His mate has been seen on trail cameras this spring but not OR 7 so he is missing and presumed dead at this point. He was 11 years old, more than twice the average life span for a wild wolf. His Rogue pack continues to thrive and his pups and grand-pups will raise their voices in Oregon’s forests for generations to come.

There is plenty to celebrate about the progress wolves have made in OR 7’s lifetime. Wolves have slowly but steadily increased over the last decade. There are now 22 known packs in Oregon and the known population of wolves has increased 15% in the last year. In response the Department of Fish and Wildlife has hired more wolf biologists and concentrated grant money and public education toward the goal of managing livestock to co-exist with wolves. Those efforts are paying off as there are 43% fewer losses of livestock in 2019. Here is a link to a wolf encounter with an ODFW intern in the summer of 2019. It has good information about meeting wolves in the wild. I hope our future contains many more beautiful and peaceful wolf encounters like this one.

Farewell OR 7, you will live in our hearts and in our stories always. art by Mónica Armiño from A Wolf Called Wander

Sources: https://dfw.state.or.us/wolves/docs/oregon_wolf_program/2019_Annual_Wolf_Report_FINAL.pdf, and https://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-wolf-population-up-but-famous-or-7-may-have-died/

Book Club Blog Posts are coming!

So many of my readers are home from school this spring because of the pandemic. I thought it would be fun to do a little Book Club on my blog. Starting April 1st, I’ll be creating three posts for families to use while reading my book. They will have science connections, some links for learning more and some fun things to try at home. No worksheets. Just a fun look at the science behind the story. First up! A Wolf Called Wander.

book cover A Wolf Called Wander — A Wolf Called Wander has been nominated for the Eloise Jarvis McGraw Award for Children’s Literature

I am waiting to create my first Book Club Posts because I need to finish up working on a book coming out in the fall. It’s a companion book to A Wolf Called Wander but the viewpoint character in this story is as big as a school bus! I’m so excited! Meanwhile I strongly encourage your whole family to take a cue from wolves in the wild and indulge in an after dinner howl from time to time. It’s good for the pack!

California here I come!

I’m so excited to be coming to the Bay Area for a whirlwind weekend of bookstore visits. All you adventurers, explorers, and wildlife trackers, come to your local bookstore and we will talk wolves and tracking and wilderness adventure. Every explorer who comes to my book events will get a small tracking journal of their own! Can’t wait to meet all you wolf fans. Here’s the schedule

Friday July 12th at BOOK PASSAGE in Corte Madera, CA at 7pm

Saturday July 13th at TOWNE CENTER BOOKS in Pleasanton, CA at 11am

also Saturday July 13th at FLASHLIGHT BOOKS in Walnut Creek, CA at 3pm

And Sunay July 14th at THE BOOK MINE in Napa, CA at 2pm.

A Book Birthday for A Wolf Called Wander

At last! The American edition of A WOLF CALLED WANDER is out in the world. It’s my first book with a signed first edition and my first book to be translated. Thanks to Virginia Duncan and the team at Greenwillow for a beautiful project from start to finish. Breathtaking art from Mónica Armiño graces nearly every page. There are blog interviews with Janet Lee Carey here and with Brazos Bookstore here. And my hometown bookstore Powells has made it a Pick of the Month for May. I’m going to be celebrating the launch at A Children’s Place Bookstore on Friday May 10th at 7pm 4807 NE Fremont St, Portland OR.

With excitement, humor, sweetness, and a beautiful, imaginative voice full of innocence, exuberance, and downright wolfiness, A Wolf Called Wander is the incredible tale, based on a true story, of one young wolf’s coming-of-age during his adventurous 1,000-mile trip in search of a new home. Recommended By Gigi L., Powells.com

A Gift for Wolves

It’s a gift for a writer when your publisher lavishes care on the editing and production of a book. I’ve felt very lucky in my career to work with caring and meticulous editors for each of my books. But this time around, with A Wolf Called Wander, my editor Virginia Duncan and her team at Greenwillow have embraced not just the book but the cause of wild wolves whole-heartedly. They’ve decided to make a donation to the Wolf Conservation Center in New York for each book sold. How awesome is that!

AGreenwillow is giving away copies at Goodreads right now. And you can pre-order at any local bookstore.