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Summary
Summary
In this eerie book from the nonfiction An Unsolved Mystery from History picture book series, travel to an Indian orphanage where two new arrivals are so wild that some claim they were raised by wolves.
In 1920 a missionary brought two young girls to an orphanage in India. The girls didn't know how to talk, walk, or eat from a plate. Some people thought the girls had been abandoned by their parents. Some people said the girls were brought up by wolves in the wild. Still others thought that the missionary who ran the orphanage made up the story about the girls. No one knows for sure.
Become a detective, study the clues, and see if you can help solve this chilling mystery from history!
Author Notes
Jane Yolen was born February 11, 1939 in New York City. She received a bachelor's degree from Smith College in 1960 and a master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts in 1976. After college, she became an editor in New York City and wrote during her lunch break. She sold her first children's book, Pirates in Petticoats, at the age of 22. Since then, she has written over 300 books for children, young adults, and adults.
Her other works include the Emperor and the Kite, Owl Moon, How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? and The Devil's Arithmetic. She has won numerous awards including the Kerlan Award, the Regina Medal, the Keene State Children's Literature Award, the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, two Christopher Medals, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Fantasy Awards, the Golden Kite Award, the Jewish Book Award, the World Fantasy Association's Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Association of Jewish Libraries Award.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-5-An unnamed narrator invites readers to investigate a historical mystery. In 1920, two sisters supposedly raised by wolves were taken to an orphanage in India. Joseph Singh, a missionary who cared for the girls after their discovery, offered varying stories as to how they came to be under his care. It's not only a mystery as to who the girls were, but also what the man's true motives were. Investigators are helped along throughout with explanations of such terms as "sal forest" and "bullock." Notes written on lined paper as if from a journal; the words and their definitions, which are set in small boxes; and text in large boxes are all superimposed on double-spread watercolor illustrations. The art serves to put the information offered in proper perspective. Evenhandedness is apparent throughout. The authors mention that scientists doubt the existence of feral children. It is suggested that individuals who seem as if they might be wild often have handicaps such as autism, deafness, or retardation. More telling, "Scientists have concluded that even a healthy child would not survive for long with only an animal mother." This seems to imply that Singh was at least an opportunist. Although the mystery is not solved, four possible explanations are appended, and readers are asked to form their own opinion. Tasty fodder for emerging detectives.-Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Another addition to the Unsolved Mystery from History series, The Wolf Girls by Jane Yolen and Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple, illus. by Roger Roth, urges readers to act as detectives. The volume presents the evidence, then asks aspiring detectives to evaluate: were two girls brought to an orphanage in India abandoned by their parents or raised by wolves in the wild? (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
A girl detective leads readers through this mystery from history: in the 1920s, an Indian missionary claimed that two girls in his orphanage had been raised by wolves. The informative text is accompanied by pencil and watercolor illustrations, word definitions on Post-its, and research notes--which makes for a sometimes confusing layout. Readers are encouraged to decide for themselves whether the story is a hoax. Bib. From HORN BOOK Spring 2002, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
In the early 1920s, newspapers throughout the world reported on two orphaned girls in a village in India who, it was alleged, had been raised by wolves. The journal of the missionary who claimed to have found them provided the "eyewitness" account, although it was written after the fact. How likely is his story? Historians have several clues and theories, but no answers. In the same format as Mary Celeste: An Unsolved Mystery from History (not reviewed), Yolen and Stemple present this "unsolved mystery" as the research of a detective's daughter going through her father's files. On each spread, the main narrative (in a framed buff-colored box) is accompanied by glossary terms (on "post-it" sized boxes) and notes from Singh's journal or historical notes (on lined notebook paper). Each of these items "floats" over Roth's double-page, realistic illustrations-in muted watercolor-and-pencil tones-of a scene from the narrative. The "sleuthing" effect works generally well, although it's occasionally sloppy: one "note" explains something from a previous page; a glossary term appears visually before its place in the narrative; some glossary terms seem unnecessary (orphanage, gossip, villagers), or their explanations curious ("tribe: A group of people who often wander from one bit of wasteland to another"). The authors close the narrative with a summary of existing theories about "what really happened," posing questions about the clues. The intent is to help readers decide for themselves, although the questions posed are biased towards particular explanations. But it is accessible and fascinating, and fans of unsolved mysteries will enjoy turning back and forth through the pages of this one. (bibliography) (Fiction. 8-13)
Booklist Review
Gr. 3-5. As they did in their previous Unsolved Mystery from History picture book about the ghost ship Mary Celeste, the authors look at an incident that raises all sorts of questions. In 1920 two young girls are brought to an orphanage in India. The missionary who runs the orphanage claims they are feral children, raised by wolves. But is that the truth or a hoax? The framework for this tale is unwieldy. A girl whose father is a detective introduces it: "My dad says no mystery is impossible to solve as long as you have enough clues." Her case notes, maps, and word definitions appear on the two-page spreads, but these are sometimes awkwardly placed, leading kids to read them before the blocks of text. What's more, despite several pages of possible conclusions (and the dad's assertion about solving crime), the answer to the girls' origins is "no one knows for sure." Problems with structure aside, the subject is fascinating, one with immediate kid appeal. Roger Roth's well-executed art tends to shy away from pictures of the girls, which is probably just what readers want to see, but it engages nevertheless. --Ilene Cooper