Winner of Newbery Medal!

Julie of the Wolves is a controversial story about a young girl by the name of Miyax otherwise known as Julie surviving in the wilderness of Alaska after fleeing an arranged marriage and the relationships, she builds with the wolves who help her survive as she attempts to escape to San Francisco. The tone is often serious but sprinkled with hope and the illustrations support these tones as they are black and white, sketched, but add supportive imagery. Due to Alaskan Native’s request to have it removed and its brief description of implied assault and domestic violence, I will not be using this book in my classroom.
Alaska Connections: The story is based on the Tundra in Alaska and has a lot of references to Alaskan towns, animals, language, and people.
Related Activity: Discuss and practice outdoor survival skills with Alaskan Native Elders. Discuss the importance of safe, healthy relationships and consent. ( )

Thirteen-year-old Yupik girl Miyax (Julie Edwards Miyax Kapugen) is orphaned and extremely alone, both in life and in the Alaskan wilderness. At the beginning of the story, we encounter Miyax somewhere outside of Barrow, Alaska, having left her husband and life there. As she befriends a wolf pack, we learn more about her past and dreams for the future, with Miyax caught between Alaska's past and its future.

I read this when I was little (I think we listened to the book on CD in the car), and it was really nice to come back to it again. ( )

One of my treasured finds. This was one of the first books I picked out from my grade school library, and I still love it. ( )

I hadn't read this book since sixth or seventh grade. I dug it out of one of my old boxes while organizing things for my boy. I remembered liking it, but I didn't remember just how great it was. I've upped this book from 3 to 5 stars. Perhaps my memory wasn't very good, or perhaps my tastes have changed. ( )