The Wolf Girls

August 1, 2001
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?

August 1, 2001
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

Copyright 2001 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2001
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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2002
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.

(Copyright 2002 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)