The stand-alone companion to Rosanne Parry’s New York Times bestseller A Wolf Called Wander tells the wilderness survival story of the wolf pup known as Warm and is illustrated in black and white throughout. This Voice of the Wilderness Novel features extensive back matter, including a map.
Warm is the smallest pup, the one his father calls the heart of the pack. But all Warm sees is his bigger brothers Sharp and Swift, even his sisters Pounce and Wag, winning all the wrestling matches. Just as Warm is finding his place, enemy wolves destroy and scatter the pack. Warm helps lead the pups away from the fight, only to find himself alone with four pups to defend and feed. Can he be both the heart and the head of a new pack? Does he have to choose the aggressive leadership style of his father and brothers? Or is there another way?
A Wolf Called Fire is a stand-alone companion novel to A Wolf Called Wander . It’s inspired by Wolf 8, a real Yellowstone wolf who was the smallest of his pack and constantly bullied by his bigger brothers. Wolf 8 survived a tumultuous first year and grew up to be a different sort of leader—one who fought many rival wolves to submission but never killed any. He had a rare talent for mentoring young wolves and became the patriarch of the largest and most successful pack in Yellowstone by choosing a more collaborative and generous leadership style. Features black-and-white illustrations throughout and extensive back matter, including a map.
A Wolf Called Wander has been one of my favourite books for a long time; it's one I go back to and read sections of, pieces here and there, and certain parts never fail to leave me in tears. One is a small paragraph, right at the end, where Wander reflects on Warm, his favourite brother, who he assumes is dead, and thinks "I send my howl to him, not because I think he is alive, but because in my heart I want to believe he is in a good place, with other wolves and plenty of elk around him. The scent-memory of my brother has followed me all the way out here." Wander was based on a real wolf, who travelled from Oregon to California. Likewise, Warm is based on another real wolf, though the two weren't related; Warm is Wolf 8, a member of a Yellowstone pack. This book is Warm's story, starting with his birth and running through the attack on his pack from rivals, his falling into guardianship of his young brothers and sisters, his abortive attempt to find Wander and coming into his own as a new kind of pack leader. A Wolf Called Fire is a stand-alone companion novel to A Wolf Called Wander. While it offers additional depth for those familiar with Wander, it can be enjoyed entirely on its own—you don’t need to know anything about the previous book to be captivated by Warm’s story.
Rosanne vividly brings the wolves to life, drawing on everything we currently know about their behaviour and the shared practices that could be seen as their culture. Even small things, like them referring to their 'wag' for their tail - "I sit on my wag to keep it quiet' - or to rabbits as 'bounders' reminds us that these aren't people in animal costumes, they have their own way of living and their own mores. It's fascinating to be in this world and see how they handle things. A small moment, when the pups realise Warm is injured and set themselves to lick all the dirt out of his wounds, was really illuminating to me. Of course that's how they'd deal with wounds, they can hardly go buy a bandage!
I felt as though Warm was a little shorter than Wander, but that may be because I was reading Warm as an ebook rather than a physical one. As an ARC, it didn't have all the illustrations that the finished copy will have, but enough to know that the finished book will be spectacular. The end matter, talking about the real Wolf 8, the flora and fauna of his range and the history of wolves in the area is fascinating.
This will go really well for any child interested in the real lives of animals, though care should be taken as these are real wolves; they kill each other and other animals for food.
If you enjoyed this book, try I am Rebel by Ross Montgomery. Rebel is a dog rather than a wolf, but the feeling of seeing a real animal act as real animals do is the same - as are the passages that bring me to tears!
For a movie, try White Fang (1991), based on Jack London’s classic novel. The film captures themes of survival, growth, and the bond between humans and animals in a naturalistic and heartfelt way, making it a perfect complement to A Wolf Called Fire.
A Wolf Called Fire publishes on the 4th February, 2025. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
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