CanLit for LittleCanadians: Animals Illustrated: Wolverine: Guest review

Occasionally I invite young readers to share a review of a Canadian book they've read and enjoyed. Here I'm pleased to share a review of Animals Illustrated: Wolverine by Grade 3 student Hudson G.

Written by Allen Niptanatiak
Illustrated by Patricia Ann Lewis-MacDougall

Inhabit Media

978-1-77227-298-7

28 pp.

Ages 6-8

September 2021

When I picked out this book, I didn’t know much about wolverines, but I was a little scared of them. I was hoping to learn more about them so I wouldn’t be scared at all. This book had good information about wolverines on each page. The number of words was just the right amount for young readers. The "Table of Contents" has a good amount of topics covered including: diet, survival adaptations, babies, and tough animals. The overall information in the book was really good to help the reader understand about wolverines. These animals are really important to Indigenous people and there is a section on traditional uses. This section is a great idea to explain to children all of the uses for their fur. For example, their fur makes parka trim and mittens. The "Fun Facts" section was also good, but I would have liked more than just three main facts. Instead of sentences, dot jots would be better to fit in more fun facts on the double-page spread.

This book is illustrated by Patricia Ann Lewis MacDougall and I really like the drawings and how realistic they are. I felt like it was real life and I was right there with the wolverine. The muted colours she used seem to represent the wildlife in the Arctic and helps the reader feel the location better. The art also has labels on the pictures to help the reader understand the text better. A combination of the information I learned and the beautiful illustrations have helped me to feel better about wolverines and they are no longer scary to me.

~Review by student Hudson G., Gr. 3