Julie of the wolves Book ReportBy: Katharine B.If you plan to read this book then DO NOT read this book report, due to SPOILERS!Introduction The author of the Newberry award winner of Julie of the Wolves is "Jean Craighead George" and the pictures were made by "John Schoenherr". Jean Craighead has also written books called "My side of the mountain" “the talking earth" and a few others. John Schoenherr was the illustrator of the books called "Gentle Ben" "Owl moon" and some others. The genre of this book is fiction because one girl can't easily become best friend with a pack of wild wolves and the subgenre is young adult fiction because of its sexual content. I think the book was adventurous because Julie (Miyax) traveled to places like San Francisco and Alaska and she had to be able to get shelter and food. The narrator of this book is Julie herself so that means the point of view is third person limited. This affected the story because you can only know what Julie is thinking and not the rest of the characters.SettingThis story takes place in Alaska tundra which Miyax describes as looking as an ‘ocean of grass’. The book does not tell you exactly when the story takes place but I guess it would be sometime between 1960’s -1970’because that was the time the book was made and they were using the term Eskimo. Miyax lives in a home she built of sod. She describes the home as “cozy” but not well built. The area is described as “gold-green plain” with frozen soil that only moss, grass and a few flowers can grow from the top layer. There are no trees. Only animals that can survive the cold temperature of the tundra can live there like cranes, caribou and wolves. If this story took place in a hot jungle with different animals and scenery I don’t think it would be the same. The relationship between Miyax and the wolves is really interesting and I don’t think it would be the same if the story took place somewhere in a jungle. There would be other things to worry about in the jungle. The cold and hard environment is harder to survive than a jungle.Characters The main character is Julie and her Eskimo name is Miyax. She is a thirteen year girl who lives the wolves in the arctic tundra. She is described as “a classic Eskimo beauty, small of bone and delicately wired with strong muscles.” She has a pearl round face, flat nose and black sparkling slanted eyes. Because of the cold environment Eskimos live in, her body is small and compact because it helps them conserve heat. Miyax is brave, because she decided to go to the wolves instead of running away. Miyax is also tough and patient because she knows how to use the land to survive when she is all alone. She also cares for the animals and for her land. Example would be her taking her time to study the wolves in order to make friends with them and share food. I think what makes Miyax so different is how caring she is, because she stays with the wolves and does her best to protect themHer father’s name is Kapugen. He is described as rugged with gentle eyes. She admires her dad very much and thinks he is a great hunter. Her dad was the one she was closets with since her mom died when Miyax was four years old. She describes memories she had with her dad walking in the tundra, stories he shared about the wolves and what she needed to do if anything happened to him. She used the information her dad gave her to help survive in nature.Amaroq is the leader of the wolf pack and the companion to Miyax. Amaroq is described as a regal black wolf. He was the largest of the wolves and Miyax thought he walked like her father with his head high and his chest out. Miyax believed he was the wise wolf because the pack starred at him like he was their leader. Amaroq is a great leader because he helps his pack to survive. He is also caring because he feeds and protects Miyax and kills one of the wolves that were taking Miyax’s food. The supporting characters are introduced at different times in the book and I mention them in the Plot Summary.Plot SummaryThe book is divided into three parts. Each part is titled after the important characters in the book. The first part tells us the beginning part of the present story. The story begins with a description of the Arctic sun as a yellow disk in a lime-green sky. The colors describe the time of day it is in the tundra. Miyax (Protagonist) is a young Eskimo girl who is alone and trying to survive life in the tundra. There are no other human characters in the first except for memories of her dad Kakugan. She is the hero of the story. She is a very tough person for being so young. She uses the memories she had with her dad on how to survive nature and living with the animals. Miyax loves nature and animals. She makes friends with a wolf pack and its leader Amaroq. The two other adult males are named Jello and Nails. The female is name Silver. There are five pups. Nails takes orders from Amaroq and stays close to Silver when Amaroq is not around. Jello is described as a loner and is the babysitter for the pups when the other adults were out. Jello can also be an antagonist because he destroys Miyax home and takes her stuff. The leader of the five pups is Kapu. Even Jello takes orders from Kapu when Kapu nudges Jello’s mouth so he can let go of meat he was holding so Miyax can eat. Miyax spends most of the time watching and trying to communicate with the wolves. She knows soon the wolves will leave and she will be on her own trying to find food. At the end of this part the wolves let Miyax feast on the remainder of the caribou that Amaroq had killed. The second part of the book goes back in time when Miyax was younger. We learn about her mom dying and about new characters like Martha, (Miya’s aunt, Naka (Friend of Kapugen and future father-in-law to Miyax), Nissan (Miya’s future mother in law), and Pearl, (Miya’s friend). After Miyax’s mother death, Kapugen leaves everything behind and takes Miyax to a seal camp where they make good memories of walking the tundra and fishing. Miyax does not like the summer time in seal camp because the English speaking Eskimos would visit and call everyone there by their American name. When Miyax turned nine she was sent to live with her Aunt Martha until she was 13 and then could leave to marry Daniel if she did not like living with Martha. Miyax became Julie when she started to live with Martha. Later one her aunt told her that her dad had died. I think she was not telling the truth and wanted to keep Miyax with her because when Miyax later leaves to get married the Aunt complains about how she will not be able to do all the work by herself. Julie stops thinking of Kapugen and gets use to her new life in Mekoryuk. She learns English and Math and gets a job. She also cuts her hair into a bob and makes a pen pal with a girl named Amy who lives in San Francisco. She starts to learn about new things in Amy’s letters like TV and blue jeans. When she turns 13 years old she is taken away to marry Daniel. She thought there was something wrong with Daniel because of his dull eyes and grin. The next day she is married to Daniel. She spent most of her time helping Nusan sew and saw Daniel very little. Then one day Daniel attacks her and after that Julie packed her stuff and left the home. She went to Pearl’s to say goodbye and get some things she needed to survive for a week. She left and headed for the tundra. She wanted to go to San Francisco. In Part 3 the story goes back to the present and Julie is now Miyax again living in the tundra. She gets back to her home and sees her house crushed, sleeping skins were torn and food laid out on grass was gone. She sees Jello and knew it was him that did all this. She knew it was time to leave. When she was camped one day Jello found her and took her pack and ran. She fell asleep wondering how she was going to survive without the stuff in her pack. When she wakes up she smells urine and she sees Jello’s torn up body. The wolves had killed him because Jello had done something bad by taking food from a pup. Later on Amaroq gets killed by bounty hunters. The rest of the wolves stay until Miyax leaves. Before she leaves Miyax meets an Eskimo hunter named Roland with his wife Alice and their baby. She learns from Alice about some great hunter who had adopted Roland and his name was Kapugen. When Miyax realized it was her father she left and said goodbye to the wolves and went to see her dad. When she found her dad she saw he had married a pale faced woman with red/gold hair. Miyax also noticed things in the home like china dishes, coffee pot and a stove. Miyax could not believe that things had change. When her father stepped away Miyax left. She found her tent and pack and threw it on her back. She began to think about building snow houses in the winter and sod houses in the summer and how she would find a boy like her and they would have children. He pet bird then died and she buried it then took her shoes and pointed it toward Kapugen. I think this means she is going back to him.Theme I think the moral of this story is follow your heart and take chances, because when Miyax saw those wolves she was scared but she just followed her heart, took a chance and tried to communicate with them. Also when her husband was treating her bad she knew in her heart she had to run away no matter how cold it was out there.Personal Response My favorite part of the book is when Miyax sleeps with the wolves, because it shows how much she loves and trusts them. The most compelling literary element for me was characters, because you get to learn what their names are and how different each character acted. I would say this book would be for 6th grade and up, because as I said it had some sexual content and, the bounty hunters coming to kill the wolves. And this was my book report on "Julie of the wolves" I hoped you enjoyed!
Julie of the WolvesWritten By: Jean Craighead GeorgeIllustrated By: John SchoenherrBook Report Written By : Mia F.(SPOILER ALERT!!!)Julie of the wolves is a great book filled of adventure and suspense. In this book you may think that the narrator would be Julie but Julie isn’t even her real name, the main character’s real name is Miyax. Miyax’s pen pal Amy calls her Julie. You don't actually know who the narrator is because the story is told in second person. this book has 3 sections the first one is called Amaroq, the wolf. The second one is called Miyax, the girl. the third section is called Kapugen, the hunter. In this story 13 year-old girl named Miyax runs away from home to escape her terrible husband Daniel and finds herself lost in the snowy tundra, in order to survive she must befriend a pack of wolves and learn their ways. Will she survive or will the wolves turn on her? (read the book to find out!)This story only really takes place in one state Alaska and doesn't really specify where in Alaska, but it mentions lots of other places to like Borrow and Nunivak Island. this story takes place only slightly in the past, i would say about 10-20 years from the year 2000.this story has many characters and each character is very complex especially the wolves. Here I have listed most of the main characters in this story:Miyax – a 13 year-old human girl. She is the main character but not the narrator. Miyax is very observant, curious, brave, patient, beautiful, she is a fast learner, and a quick thinker; Miyax is very much like her father and has his instincts. She also is the adopted child of Martha, 13 year-old wife of Daniel, she is a student at the Bureau of Indian Affairs School in Barrow, and she makes cool connections from wolf behavior to human behavior to help her understand the wolves better.Amaroq – a very big alpha male wolf. He is very strong, brave, confident, and wise. Amaroq is the leader of the wolf pack. He is Silver’s mate they have 5 puppies. Amaroq acts very tough but he also has a soft side. His weakness is the puppies, he loves them so much.Kapugen (A.K.A Kapu) - is the leader of the wolf pups. He resembles his father Amaroq with their similar black coats and apparently Miyax’s too, he was named Kapugen (or Kapu for short) by Miyax because his fearlessness and intelligence and that reminded Miyax of her father. Kapugen is a loved member of Amaroq’s pack, he is one of Amaroq and Silver’s 5 puppies and he has 4 siblings. Kapu seems to be the leader of the puppies and will likely fill-in for his father when he becomes of age. Kapu loves to play with Miyax. To Miyax he is her laughing partner and her serious partner.Here is a list of most of the supporting characters in this story:Kapugen - he is Miyax’s father. He is a supporting character. Kapugen is very brave, curious, wise, a great teacher, patient, fast learner, and a quick thinker. he is very much like his daughter Miyax. he believes in old eskimo traditions.Daniel – Miyax’s husband. He is the reason that Miyax ran away. Daniel is very scary and a little crazy. he is the son of Naka and NusanAmy – is Miyax’s pen pal. Amy lives in San Francisco and is very eager for Julie (A.K.A Miyax) to come and live with her and she really wants to please her. Naka - is Miyax's father-in law. He is very kind and caring when he isn't drunk. he is Daniel's fatherNusan - Miyax’s mother-in law. She is very kind. she makes clothes for tourists. she is Daniel’s mother.Martha - Miyax’s adopted mother. she is very strict but only to keep Miyax safe from what she thinks is wrong.Pearl - Miyax’s friend ever since she came to barrow to marry Daniel. She has been very kind to miyax and has taught her many things. she even helped her escape from Daniel.Silver – a female wolf named because of her beauty, she was named by Miyax like all the other wolves in Amaroq’s pack. Silver is a member in Amaroq’s pack, in fact she is Amaroq’s mate and they have 5 puppies. Silver was almost named Martha after Miyax’s stepmother.Nails – is a male wolf. Nails is Amaroq’s dependable friend, he is the pups father when Amaroq is busy. He is Amaroq’s serious partner. Nails was named by Miyax as well as all the other wolves in Amaroq’s pack.Jello – is a small male wolf, he was named by Miyax like all the other wolves in Amaroq’s pack. Not much is known about Jello. Jello is sometimes the puppy-sitter for the 5 puppies. He is at the bottom of the totem poll. Jello dislikes Miyax and unsuccessfully tries to take Miyax’s food.Sister - is the smallest puppy, she is probably the runt or just the youngest pup. Just like all the other wolves Sister was named by Miyax. Sister is a loved member of Amaroq’s pack, in fact she is one of Amaroq and Silver’s 5 puppies. Sister loves to play with her 4 other siblings.Kapugen - A.K.A. Kapu, is the black pup. He resembles his father and apparently Miyax’s too, because was named Kapugen (or Kapu for short) by Miyax because his fearlessness and intelligence and that reminded Miyax of her father. Kapugen is a loved member of Amaroq’s pack, he is one of Amaroq and Silver’s 5 puppies and he has 4 siblings. Kapu seems to be the leader of the puppies and will likely fill-in for his father when he becomes of age.Zing, Zat, and Zit - are 3 of the 5 puppies. They were named Zing, Zat, and Zit by Miyax because they all have very little personality traits and features. They are all Amaroq and Silver’s puppies and loved members of the pack.in the story Miyax and The wolf pack must survive the cold, harsh Elements and needs.The lesson in this story is you have to do what you have to do. my proof is when Miyax befriends the wolf pack she had to do it in order to survive, when miyax has to leave Kapu (the wolf) to go find Kapugen, and when Miyax married Daniel.i liked this book because it really makes you feel the same feelings as the characters and then you can personally connect to the book and that little thing can change the entire book. what really hooked me was when Miyax starts to actually befriend the wolves and when she carved the bone to look like Amaroq to honor him when he died. I would recommend this book to 6th and up because there is hard vocabulary and hard to follow plot. i would give this book 4/5 wolves (by wolves I mean stars) because it really grabbed me in the last section and it made me feel like i was there in the story, plus the whole story just blows my mind, imagine doing all the things that Miyax did if you were 13. that almost seems impossible.10 Difficult words or phrases (only in the first section):Frost heavePredicamentBleak tundraRigorousBountifulMonotonybayedLaundressescrooneddevotedly
What do You think about Julie Of The Wolves (1997)?
Julie Edwards Miyax Kapugen is a 13-year-old Eskimo girl on the cusp between childhood and womanhood, between traditional life and modern “white” life. Orphaned and living with an aunt she dreams alternately of the years she spent living with her father at a small village and of San Francisco and the pink “mansion” where her pen pal Amy lives. She is married at thirteen to the son of her father’s good friend, an arrangement that had been made years previously, but Daniel is not a suitable husband, so Julie leaves to find her own way. She uses all the skills her father taught her regarding the traditional Eskimo life, but still she is struggling to feed herself. When she encounters a wolf pack she recalls her father’s story of wolves, so she observes them carefully and learns more about surviving on the Alaska tundra. Leaving Julie behind, she becomes Miyax, an Eskimo girl.This is a lovely and compelling story. More than just a coming-of-age tale, it is a tale of survival. Our young heroine has endured considerable tragedy in “modern” life; her time on the vast and unforgiving tundra will test her in ways many adults could not manage. She shows intelligence, drive, persistence, patience, empathy and spirituality. She is truly torn and her final decision on whether to stay on the tundra as Miyax or return to a village as Julie is a heart-wrenchingly difficult one. George paints a desolate landscape that still has beauty and majesty. Julie’s character unfolds as her confidence in her skills grows. We feel her excitement and despair. Relish her successes and worry over her missteps. The book is aimed at children ages 10 and older, but adults will enjoy it as well.The audio book is performed by Christina Moore, who does a wonderful job, bringing not only Julie but the animals and landscape of Alaska to life.
—Book Concierge
This book reminded me of "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen that I read as a child. This book showcases how one person, Julie/Miyax, can learn to live off the land and commune with nature in a way that most of us are not able to do. George makes the moments where Julie finally starts interacting with the wolves believable because they are rooted in behaviors that we can understand. She creates something that isn't fantasy-based like many children books of our modern day. This feels like a book that could actually happen.I am not normally engrossed into a book the way that I was this particular one. I think it was largely due to the fact that it was more rooted in present day than a lot of books are. Most books seem to want to have magic or otherworldly stuff in them, but this one doesn't try to do that. It simply showcases how Eskimos live off the land in a beautiful way. If you are looking for a book that will teach a young person about survival this is a good book to do that. It will showcase how one can live off the land and shows how sometimes it is necessary to be a part of nature itself. Every single moment has a purpose in this book. George doesn't start with all the details of Julie's life, but saves that for the part 2 portion of the book which makes for a much more interesting read. I highly recommend this book for a lazy afternoon where you want to read something that will keep you engaged the entire time. This book will!
—Eric
My younger brother is a rather picky eater. When he eats something he doesn’t like, he clamps his nose with two fingers and swallows the food as quickly as possible while suppressing the gag reflex. For him, some foods just don’t go down as easy as others.tFor me, Jean Craghead George’s Julie of the Wolves could hardly go down at all.tIt’s a quick and easy read, for ages 10 and up, coming in at about 150 pages, and to be honest, that’s all I could bear.This 1972 Newberry award winning novel shows the effects of the world’s urbanization on the native Inuit tribes. But instead of making this book heartwarming at all...it just comes off as being depressing. The storyline follows a young Eskimo girl with a near-unpronounceable name, Miyax. She studies wolves, and attempts to “learn their language,” a skill that sounds weird on paper, and is even weirder in practice. She was set up to be married to a man who is quite a dweeb and a rapist, so she runs away into the artic and sets off a string of highly depressing prose.tAlthough if there’s something that George gets right in the course of the book it’s her writing style. She describes the landscape of the artic with such majesty and sophistication that I can’t help but gape at the mental picture she paints. The unfortunate catch is that there is no substance to back up this beautiful diction, the characters were clichéd, the storyline uninvolving, and the ending abrupt and awkward.tAnd speaking of awkwardness, this book was the 32nd most-banned book from 1990-1999, according to the ALA. tWhy?tAt the end of Part II there is a scene depicting an attempted rape between two characters, Myax (now Americanized and re-named Julie) and Daniel, (the guy she marries). According to Banned in the U.S.A. an incident occurred in March 1996, when the book was removed from the sixth grade reading list in Pulaski Township, Pennsylvania at the behest of parents who “complained of a graphic marital rape scene in the book.” This really surprised me, why on earth would they include a scene about a rapist in a children’s book? I didn’t even know what rape meant until I was in 9th grade… Yet, there it is. I’m totally against censorship, but I don’t really think that this book is suitable for 5th grade readers (its target audience).While there are two more installments to this trilogy, I will definitely not be reading them. This book can go just below other similar pieces of repulsive literature, such as Stephanie Myer’s Twilight Saga and Nathanel Hawthorn’s The Scarlet Letter. To Quote Jean Craghead George herself, "the hour of the wolf and Eskimo is over.” Frankly, the hour doesn’t even start.
—Tyler
