Child of the Wolves is a 1996 children's book by Elizabeth Hall. It tells the tale of a Siberian husky puppy who joins a pack of wolves.
Granite is a Siberian husky born in Alaskan. He spends his first few weeks living with his sled-dog mother Seppala in a kennel. Once he's old enough, Granite and his only sister Cricket are sold to a man who plans to breed wolf-dogs. Granite escapes into the wilderness and is raised by a wolf pack.
This book provides examples of:
- Animal Naming Conventions:
- Granite's siblings are predominantly named after things related to nature: Digger, Nugget, and Cricket. However, they were named by humans.
- Wolves have naturalistic names like "Snowdrift", "Ebony", "Roamer", and "Climber".
- A Hero Is Born: The book starts with Seppala giving birth to Granite and his siblings.
- Interspecies Adoption: Granite is adopted by wolves as a puppy.
- Language Barrier: An interesting nod to the fact that, while very similar, the way domestic dogs communicate is different in some ways from that of wolves. In particular, as a husky Granite's tail is naturally carried high up, which the wolves see as him being insolent. He has to learn to keep it down most of the time.
- A Pet into the Wild: Granite is a husky puppy who escapes his new owner. He joins a wolf pack in the Alaskan wilderness.
- Shout-Out: Granite's mother Seppala is named after a famous sled dog breeder and trainer, Leonhard "Sepp" Seppala.
- Sick Episode: Seppala falls ill while nursing her puppies. She recovers after a few days.
