Nutik, the Wolf Pup by Jean Craighead George (2001) was a little unsettling for me. A young boy named Amaroq helps care for an injured wolf pup. Amaroq’s sister warns him not to grow to love the pup, “‘...your heart will break when the wolves come and take him away.’” The pup’s name is Nutik and Amaroq grows to love it. Of course, he hides the pup when its pack comes for it. The pack returns, and Nutik joins his wolf family–until he doesn’t. A wolf as a pet? I’m not so sure about that. But then again, an Eskimo village is not my culture, so I don’t know what the norm is. Ted Rand's illustrations have an informality to them that was adequate for the story.
