In a cozy, sheltered den in the woods, four Red Wolf puppies are born. Their parents and older brothers will nurture and teach them through the summer and fall as they learn to mark, hunt, and howl. In a cabin not far away, a young widow named Sally Few cares for her five-year-old twins, Sarah and Will. A howl from the woods makes Sally uneasy, but the children respond with wonder to the red wolf’s song.
With lyrical prose and lavishly detailed illustrations, Eileen Heyes, Anne Marshall Runyon, and Steven Petruccio bring these two families to life. Freedom’s Howl: The Song of the Red Wolves looks back to 1776, a time when red wolves were a top predator in what is now the southeastern United States. Today, red wolves are in trouble. They are the most critically endangered canid species in the world. A final section updates readers on the red wolves’ plight, offering advice on ways young people can help pull this uniquely American carnivore back from the brink of extinction.
Red wolves are one of the world’s most endangered canid species, and their story isn’t over yet. Today, thanks to the incredible work of the North Carolina Zoo, red wolves are finding hope again. The Zoo houses the second-largest breeding pack of red wolves in the world and coordinates the Red Wolf Recovery Program—an effort that stretches across 45 institutional partners working to save this American icon from extinction.
Freedom’s Howl is more than a story. It’s a call to action, inviting young readers and their families to join the effort to protect red wolves and the ecosystems they call home.
This book was supported by America 250 NC and the Richard H. Jenrette Foundation.