Bringing Back the Wolves: How a Predator Restored an Ecosystem

For this reviewer, Yellowstone National Park is one of the most magnificent places on Earth. It has always been a wonderful place. For a period, however, something significant was missing and, because of that, the park suffered in countless ways. With the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park in 1995, the overall health of the park has improved dramatically.

Bringing Back the Wolves: How a Predator Restored an Ecosystem tells the success story that is the reintroduction of wolves to the park. During the late 1800s, the park’s wolves were perceived to be a threat to livestock and were heavily hunted in areas in and around the park. By 1926, all of the wolves were gone. Their removal changed virtually every bit of the park ecosystem. The reintroduction of wolves was the cure for an ailing environment.

Jude Isabella’s written text is interesting and informative. Each double-page spread focusses upon a different aspect of this ecological success story. Text features, including a table of contents, an index, and the use of headings and bolded text for terms found in a glossary at the back of the book, will all assist young readers as they navigate their ways through Bringing Back the Wolves.

Isabella’s writing is factually accurate, but she also makes careful word choices that ensure the narrative remains engaging and accessible. Over three dozen words and phrases are explained in the glossary. While the glossary predictably contains such words as “carnivores”, “pack”, “predator”, and “ecosystem”, the inclusion in the text and glossary of other, more advanced terms reflects the author’s respect for her audience. “Carnassial teeth”, “keystone species”, “mesopredators”, and “trophic cascade” are also among the terms explained in the glossary. These sorts of word choices reflect respect for precise accuracy, but they also reflect the author and publisher’s respect for the abilities of children to make sense of information when it is presented in an accurate, yet accessible, manner.

Kim Smith’s colourful artwork was created in Photoshop. While this reviewer generally does not like computer-generated art, in this case, the illustrations are attractive, and they do augment Isabella’s strong written text. Greater realism in the art would be better, but there is depth, detail, and texture in Smith’s art that is often absent from computer-generated illustrations. Smith’s species-specific depictions of birds, animals, and plants are a valuable addition to the book.

Bringing Back the Wolves will have wide appeal and serve a variety of purposes. Teachers will find this a useful school resource for discussions of food chains, food webs, ecosystems, and conservation. Readers with a general interest in nature will find it an interesting book. Readers with a particular interest in wolves will find it fascinating. Those preparing for a family trip to Yellowstone will be better prepared to enjoy that trip if they read this book before they go. For those returning from such a trip, Bringing Back the Wolves book will make a nice keepsake reminder of their journey.

Bringing Back the Wolves tells a story of the complex interconnectedness of natural ecosystems. The book is based on careful research and scientific data. Isabella is a one-time editor of a Canadian science magazine for children. It was apparently a dream come true for her to visit Yellowstone to watch the wolves. In reading the book, there seems no doubt its production was a labour of love. The transformation of Yellowstone National Park is a wonderful story, and it is one that deserves telling. This is a great success story well-told.