About "Friends of the Wolf", A New Children’s Book By Robert Young
Friends of the Wolf is a newly-released children’s book that introduces young readers, ages 7-11, to the wonderful world of wolves. Kids can look forward to learning amazing wolf facts, their long history of being one of the most misunderstood animals on the planet, and their road to recovery, all accompanied by beautiful photographs.
California Wolf Center has the honor of being featured in this book. We reached out to the author, Robert Young, so he could share more with us about Friends of the Wolf in his own words, including what inspired him to write it and how his book aims to educate young readers about the work organizations like ours are doing to restore wild wolf populations.
About the Author, Robert Young
Robert: I’ve been a children’s book author since the late 80s and have had 28 books published. Friends of the Wolf is the most recent. As for my background, I’m a former educator, having worked in classroom settings both as a teacher as well as a staff development specialist.
As a specialist, my focus was helping teachers do a better job teaching writing through critical thinking and writing exercises, strategies, and activities to keep kids engaged and interested in writing. Nowadays, I do virtual author visits with classes and spend the rest of my time writing books that allow me to explore my curiosity on any topic at all, from Abraham Lincoln, to chewing gum, to wolves!
What is Friends of the Wolf about?
R: Friends of the Wolf is an introduction to young readers about wolves, which offers a balance of wolf facts, debunks common misconceptions and fears, and dives into the role that sanctuaries, zoos, and refuges play in wolf education and conservation.
“Not all types of wolves are the same. The presenter shows visitors skulls from a Mexican gray wolf (left) and a Rocky Mountain gray wolf (right).” - Friends of the Wolf
The book starts off by reiterating common biases against wolves, and works from there to unravel those biases through critical thinking, facts, and education. Ultimately, I want kids to explore why society thinks wolves are scary, determine whether those opinions are based on facts, and understand how important wolves are to the environment.
What inspired you to write this book?
R: I like to write about topics that reflect my curiosities. I ask questions and research the answers, often uncovering interesting details I hadn’t even considered. In the case of Friends of the Wolf, my curiosity was not only about finding wolf facts, but also what life in a wolf sanctuary or refuge is like, why wolves are important, and how organizations work to restore wolves to their native habitats and educate the public.
This particular curiosity started 11 years ago when I visited a local wolf sanctuary here in Oregon that took in wolves that people had tried to make pets out of and had to surrender when it ultimately didn’t work out. The wolves were re-homed there and were taken care of to live out their lives. That place was a true wolf sanctuary, a forever home for the wolves that had come in under various circumstances, not a refuge or conservation facility where they could potentially be transferred or released into the wild.
From there, I visited various conservation organizations and was really impressed with the quality of education programs I saw, and it inspired me to write this book. There are already plenty of wolf books for kids, but I wanted to go beyond sharing basic information. I wanted to make a case for why we should preserve and protect these amazing animals. And, I wanted to include information about what organizations such as the International Wolf Center, Wolf Haven, the Wolf Conservation Center, and of course, California Wolf Center, are doing to make a difference.
What do you think people can learn from wolves?
R: Namely, the way packs use cooperation to get things done, whether it's to eat or to protect themselves. I think we could all take an example from wolves on how to get along with each other in that regard.
That, and their ability to adapt to anything life throws at them. At one point, wolves lived almost all throughout the world, but because of human intervention, they’ve had to adapt to a much smaller range. Now, as they’re moving from Yellowstone to California and constantly facing new dangers, they're adapting to the new surroundings, and I think that’s amazing. They’re truly amazing animals.
Is there a surprising wolf fact you learned during your research?
R: Something that surprised me was how persistent they have to be in order to eat. In my research, I learned that wolves are only successful about 15% of the time when they go hunting. That means most of the time—85%—they walk away hungry.
What you would like both children and adults to know about wolves and wolf conservation?
R: I think the most important thing I’d like both children and adults to understand is that wolves are necessary for a healthy ecosystem. I think about Yellowstone and how the reintroduction of the wolves has really changed that ecosystem for the better, helping everything from the birds to the fish to the willows.
I want to help spread the idea that we don’t need to be afraid of wolves. Cautious, yes, as they’re wild animals and inappropriate as pets, but not fearful. In classroom settings, I lead an activity called “First Word” and I name an animal and ask the kids to write down the first word that comes to mind when they think about that animal. I name cow, dog, whale, and then wolf. I write the wolf responses on the board, placing them in two columns, Positive and Negative. We discuss their responses and use them as starting points for reading the book. After reading, we redo the activity and notice how their opinions become more positive.
“What do all these have in common? Each of them causes more harm to humans than wolves.” - Friends of the Wolf
It’s a way to work on unconscious bias and have the kids discover whether their opinions are supported by evidence. For example, one of the spreads in the book shows pictures of several animals, including a mosquito, a cow, and a bee. I ask kids “What do these things have in common?” The answer is that each of these causes more harm to humans than wolves! That usually gets a lot of surprised reactions.
What would you like people to do with the information they learn from your book?
R: I’d like for them to take action to help wolves however they can, and that’s part of the closing message of the book. I want kids to become friends of the wolf by being proactive in learning about them, telling friends and relatives about why they’re important, writing to their local elected officials about how we can be better friends to wolves and nature, and doing what they can to directly help organizations like California Wolf Center by visiting.
One classroom activity I’m working on for my virtual author meetups is having kids research businesses that use wolves as logos, asking those companies why they’re using a wolf as their logo (Is it their favorite animal? Does it somehow relate to what they sell? Did they just think it looked cool?) and encouraging those businesses to donate money to organizations that help save wolves.
What was your favorite part about your visit to California Wolf Center?
R: When I think about the other wolf refuges I’ve visited while researching my book, one thing I particularly liked about California Wolf Center was during the educational presentation where I got to see the wolf skulls and paw casts to note their size in comparison to dogs.
While it’s always cool to see the wolves in person, I think having that background and concept of scale as a foundation before going out to see them is fascinating.
How to Get Your Own Copy of Friends of the Wolf
Thank you so much for taking the time to tell us about your new book, Robert!
You can purchase your own copy of Friends of the Wolf on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and you can pick up a copy in person in our downtown Julian Visitor Center and Nature Store located at 2775 B Street in Julian, CA. If you’d like a signed copy of the book, order here on Robert’s website. He’ll donate 20% of the proceeds from his website orders to the California Wolf Center to help aid in our mission of wolf conservation so, by reading, you can also be directly helping wolves!
