“Whittington,” by Alan Armstrong

“Whittington,” by Alan Armstrong is a fascinating Newbery Honor book that is part historical fiction, and part animal story.

Whittington is a tough cat, with a hitch in his back, a torn ear, and a slight attitude. But Whittington also has a noble family history that goes all the way back to the 1300’s. When Whittington is abandoned by his family he goes in search of a new home, finally ending up at Bernie’s barn.

Bernie is an old man with a small farm and paddock. He also has a reputation for taking in all the strays and unwanted animals that other people want to get rid off. From old horses, to pigs, roosters, and finally Whittington the cat, Bernie takes care of new animals, and houses them in his barn.

Little does Bernie realize, but the animals that live in his barn have a special relationship of their own. When adults are around the animals stay silent, but when they are alone, or with Bernie’s grandchildren Abby and Ben, they tell stories and talk between themselves.

Ten year old Abby, and eight year old Ben love to spend time in Bernie’s barn with the animals. When Whittington joins the collection of animals who have found refuge with Bernie, he must tell his own story to the other animals. It is customary in Bernie’s barn that new animals must tell their life story and history to the others.

And so Whittington begins telling the tale of a young boy named Dick, and an extraordinary cat that lived hundreds of years ago. This cat was an ancestor of Whittington, and in its life it brought his master Dick great fame and fortune.

The animals enjoy Whittington’s historical story, and at the same time the story inspires young Ben, who is struggling with his dyslexia in an attempt to learn to read. The perseverance shown by Dick, and the help of Abby, the cat Whittington, and the other animals finally helps Ben to overcome his fear of reading.

I feel that “Whittington” is a great story in all respects. Alan Armstrong masterfully develops the story in two parallel directions, showing Whittington’s fascinating historical ancestor, and at the same time portraying Ben’s struggle to learn to read.

I liked the calm, peaceful feeling of “Whittington.” The animal characters are intelligent and masterful. Their personalities and relationships teach Abby and Ben, and at the same time make the plot interesting.

“Whittington,” by Alan Armstrong is a book that I would definitely recommend to all young readers.

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“Julie,” by Jean Craighead George

“Julie,” by Jean Craighead George is a fascinating story that is sequel to the Newbery Award winning novel “Julie of the Wolves.”

In “Julie of the Wolves” author Jean Craighead George introduced readers to a young Eskimo girl with two names: Miyax, and Julie. Miyax is her Yupick name, and Julie is her English name. Miyax ended up lost in the barren wilderness of Alaska. To survive she befriended a wolf pack, and the wolves brought her food.

When Miyax discovered that her father, Kapugen, who she had previously thought to be dead, was alive and living in a nearby village, she decided that it was time to leave the wilderness and her wolf pack and return to live with humans.

But Miyax’s time in the wilderness has changed her in many ways. Now she no longer longs for the life of the gussaks, the white people who have come to live in the Arctic. Instead she wants to live in the traditional way that Eskimos have lived for thousands of years.

When she comes to Kapugen’s home, though, she discovers that her father has also changed. He is not the same father that she knew when she was a little girl, the father that taught her about how he lived with the wolves himself.

Kapugen has married a gussak, a red haired American woman from Minnesota. He has also adopted many ways of the white people. He has a radio, and has replaced his sled dogs with a snow mobile. Most importantly, he has a plane. To her horror Miyax recognizes the plane as the very one from which a pilot, her own father, shot Amaroq, the leader of the wolf pack she had befriended.

Kapugen has an industry now. He is raising musk oxen for their thick fur. The Eskimo villages harvest the fur and sell it to make an income to support themselves. But wolves will prey on the musk oxen, especially since the caribou still haven’t come. Kapugen shot Amaroq to protect his musk oxen. He didn’t realize that he was a friend of Miyax.

At first Miyax feels that Kapugen has changed too much, and she wants to return to the wilderness to live with her wolf pack again. But she realizes that Kapugen is her father, and that he must do what he feels is best to protect the village industry. The village needs the money that the musk oxen bring in, because the caribou still have not come, and without the musk oxen money the villagers would starve.

Unfortunately, the lack of caribou is also a problem for Julie’s wolf pack. The wolves are now being led by Kapu, Amaroq’s son. This wolf is named after Kapugen, Julie’s father. The wolves have followed her to the village, and Miyax is afraid that they will attack the musk oxen if they get hungry enough.

When one of the musk oxen is killed by Kapu’s wolf pack it is the final straw for her father. He is determined to kill the wolves, even though he knows that they helped Julie when she was lost in the wilderness. Julie finally gets her father to relent, but only on one condition. She must lead the wolves away from the village, and they must not return.

So Julie sets out into the wilderness again. She must find a place where the wolves will have plenty of food. If she can’t find such a place, or if the wolf pack won’t stay there, then they will be in great danger if they ever return to Kapugen’s village again.

“Julie” is the perfect continuation of the series. I loved the way that Jean Craighead George further developed the theme that began in “Julie of the Wolves.” The overwhelming effect of the series is to explore the differences between the traditional Eskimo way of life and the encroaching white culture. The differences between them are dramatic, but both Jean Craighead George, and her strong character Julie manage to balance the two forces admirably.

The story line in “Julie” has both tension and beauty. In this second book Julie finds a young man named Peter, who is a much better replacement for Daniel, her former child husband. This time Julie will wait until she is older before marrying Peter, adopting one of the ways of the white people. Throughout the story Julie uses some ways of the gussaks, and some ways of the Eskimo people. By mixing both she is able to find the perfect life for herself.

The landscapes in “Julie” are also beautiful. I think that Jean Craighead George developed the setting of the story much more thoroughly in this sequel than she did in her first book “Julie of the Wolves.” This may be in part because the landscape of this sequel is much richer than the barren wilderness of the first book. Also “Julie” covers the seasons of the Arctic North in much better detail, from the frozen blizzards of winter to the breakup and puddles of the Arctic summer.

If you have read “Julie of the Wolves,” then I can assure you that you will enjoy “Julie” as well. This beautiful sequel is first rate, and exactly the kind if high quality writing that one can expect from author Jean Craighead George.

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“Julie of the Wolves,” by Jean Craighead George

“Julie of the Wolves,” by Jean Craighead George is a Newbery Award Medal winning novel about a girl who gets lost on the North Slope of Alaska and befriends a pack of Arctic wolves to survive.

Like most young Eskimos living in Alaska, Miyax is caught between two worlds. On the one hand she is Miyax, a girl who speaks Yupick and lives in an Eskimo village. But Miyax has another name: Julie, and she also speaks English, the language of the gussaks, and her pen pal Amy, who lives far below the Arctic circle in a place called San Francisco.

When Miyax runs away from her arranged marriage, and her angry husband Daniel, she has a plan. She will use her knowledge of the traditional Eskimo life to hike across the North Slopes of Alaska to Point Hope, where a ship called the North Star could take her to San Francisco and her pen pal Amy.

But a week later Miyax is completely lost in the vast wilderness. There are no roads to guide her, and she is miles from her destination, lost in a place where there are no distinguishing features to guide her. Miyax knows that she could wander in circles for weeks until she slowly starves to death.

There is little food in the Arctic wilderness. Even the animals of prey are starving, because the land is between animal seasons. The lemmings have come and gone, but the caribou have not yet arrived.

When Miyax finds a small wolf pack she knows that it is her only chance of survival. Years ago her father told her of a time when he had been in a similar predicament. He befriended a wolf pack until he was accepted as a member of it. The wolves then brought him food until he was able to care for himself.

And so Miyax begins working on a plan to win the wolves over. As she studies the complex interactions of the wolf pack, she learns to read their mannerisms. As she forms an important bond with the pack of Arctic wolves and their puppies Miyax begins to see the depth of wisdom and sustainability in the ancient Eskimo ways. The wolves help Miyax, and she in turn also helps them. Eventually they help her to find her way to the edge of the barren wilderness, where man’s realm begins.

As Miyax approaches the border of the wilderness that she has come to love, she must make a decision about her life. Does she really want to go to San Francisco to live a new life as Julie? Or does she want to be Miyax, living the traditional Eskimo way of life?

“Julie of the Wolves,” by Jean Craighead George is an amazingly powerful story. I loved the descriptions of the Arctic weather and landscape. As in all of Jean Craighead George’s ecological stories, the balancing of man and nature is expounded upon in great detail, showing innovative ways that humans can interact with nature.

Just as in Jean Craighead George’s “My Side of the Mountain,” Miyax learns to live in the wild using natural ways of harvesting food from the wilderness. I enjoyed the descriptions of traditional Eskimo ways.

“Julie of the Wolves” is one of those books that really impresses me with the scope of natural living, and the beauty of our planet and the animals that live on it. I feel that “Julie of the Wolves” was definitely worthy of its Newbery Award Medal.

Every reader should experience this powerful story of the Arctic, its animals, and one girl’s interaction with both.

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