Bringing Back the Wolves: How a Predator Restored an Ecosystem by Jude Isabella is a nonfiction book for children that is currently scheduled for release on March 3 2020. An unintended experiment in Yellowstone National Park, in which an ecosystem is devastated and then remarkably rehabilitated, provides crucial lessons about nature's intricate balancing act. In the 1800s, hunters were paid by the American government to eliminate threats to livestock on cattle ranches near Yellowstone National Park. They did such a good job that, by 1926, no gray wolf packs were left in the park. Over the following decades, virtually every other part of the park's ecosystem was affected by the loss of the wolves --- from the animals who were their prey, to the plants that were the food for that prey, to the streams that were sheltered by those plants --- and the landscape was in distress. So, starting in 1995, in an attempt to reverse course, the government reintroduced gray wolves to the park. Over time, animal populations stabilized, waterways were restored and a healthy ecosystem was recreated across the land. It's a striking transformation, and a fascinating tale of life's complicated interdependencies. Jude Isabella's thoroughly researched, expert-reviewed text and Kim Smith's beautiful nature art bring science to life in this captivating story of renewal. Readers will recognize just how complex an ecosystem is and learn about the surprising interconnectedness of its members. Biodiversity, ecosystems, the food chain, habitats, needs of living things and the importance of human stewardship of the environment are all covered through this real-life example, offering direct links to earth and life science curriculums. Food web infographics help reinforce the information. A glossary and index add to the book's usefulness.

Bringing Back the Wolves: How a Predator Restored an Ecosystem is a well researched and written book about the reestablishment of wolves at Yellowstone. I have seen a few documentaries on the subject, since my daughter has been obsessed with wolves for years. I had a general understanding of the subject, but that is not necessary to understand the book. The information is framed in narratives and written so that it is easily accessible and understood without talking down to readers or sounding condescending. The information was well paced, and the accompanying artwork added a great deal to my understanding and will be very useful for visual learners. I learned some information that was new to me, and was reminded of how small changes can have a large effect on the world. This is something that I think readers of all ages could learn and be reminded of on a regular basis. I was glad to see a glossary, resources, and an index in the endpapers. I think this book could be a good addition to public, school, and classroom libraries.

Great illustrations and a really interesting and informative book about not only wolves, but ecosystems in general. I'd recommend this book for grades 3 and up.

Mom: I have read and learned about the 1995 reintroduction of the grey wolf into Yellowstone National Park throughout the years.

1995 Reintroduction of Wolves in Yellowstone [https://www.yellowstonepark.com/park/yellowstone-wolves-reintroduction]
Wolf Reintroduction Changes Ecosystem in Yellowstone [https://www.yellowstonepark.com/things-to-do/wolf-reintroduction-changes-ecosystem]
Yellowstone's wolves are back, but they haven't restored the park's ecosystem [https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/science/2018/09/07/wolves-reintroduction-yellowstone-ecosystem/973658002/]

I don’t know that anyone thought it would be quick fix, but the experiment is still something vital to learn about to understand the interconnectivity of all of us living on this planet.
This book has offered a resource to kids as an introduction to the ecosystem and the “web” the author uses to illustrate the links between us all. While the overarching theme is the Yellowstone-specific ecosystem, the book provides many “fun facts” and tips along the way.

MyChild: I thought it was interesting that just by the wolves being out of the park, so many things changed – even the birds were changed.

MyChild: Obviously, I liked the part near the end where almost all of the animals had come back to the area and things were going well, but I think my favorite thing was learning how crows follow the wolves and tease and play with the puppies.

Stars: 5
Would We Recommend? Yes

#BringingBacktheWolves #NetGalley

This book provides a great look into the ecosystem and how the food chain works and what happens when it is broken. Beautiful illustrations.

This book wasn’t quite what I hoped it would be - which I suppose isn’t really the book’s fault. The illustrations were very pretty, but I found the text rather dry. I’d recommend this for an older child with a keen interest in the sciences and nature, who won’t be turned off by dry prose.

A great book to show the connections just one animal can have in the habitat. Good to show how animals and climate can affect an area.

This a great educational book to learn about how wolves were reintroduced to the beautiful Yellowstone National Park in 1995. It's jam packed with information and explains in detail with gorgeous illustrations throughout.

However, if this book is aimed at children, they're not going to engage with the ratio of text to pictures. The text itself is fairly dense to read with some high-end vocabulary that wouldn't appeal to children for an easy read. I think it could have benefitted from a greater number of actual photographs alongside the illustrations to show that this is a real place! The way the book is presented indicates it's for younger readers but the content certainly doesn't match it. Fantastic information but this could have been presented in a more child-friendly manner.

Very good, and certainly highly commendable, book about nature, that focuses on one dramatic incident to show the nature of food chains and food webs. With the reintroduction of the wolf to Yellowstone, having had it nearly hunted to extinction there, everything changed – seemingly wholly for the better, and back to how it had been. For the elk had been too predominant without the wolves, so they'd eaten too many trees, so there were fewer songbirds and insects, and beavers, and therefore even fish. The smaller carnivores were also too active, and they'd been clearing out the small herbivorous animals, so raptors weren't finding it so welcoming. It really is amazing how one man-made decision to revert to a previous situation changed so much, and this book is really good at showing the diversity of this example ecosystem and how everything is interdependent. It's not a perfect book, for it is rather bitty, and jumps too often from dramatising one of several wolf hunts to the hard science and back, but it's certainly one for educators to have in their repertoire.

This is a beautifully illustrated book that gives kids an in depth look at what happened to Yellowstone when the government encouraged people to hunt the wolves there and they were eliminated from its ecosystem. That loss affected everything else in the park, from plants to animals. The book tells the story of what happened then and what happened when they were reintroduced. It's full of really detailed information about all of the species in Yellowstone, wolves, and how they all affect each other. Better suited for older kids who enjoy independent reading.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

I LOVED THIS! as a science teacher, being able to explain apex predators and food webs is sometimes a difficult concept for students as they are used to food chains. This book explains how the removal of an apex predator, not just a top predator, can greatly affect not just the species that interact with it but the environment around said species. It provides insight into the delicate balance that exists in nature that we as humans normally take for granted. The illustrations are beautifully done and the artwork really gives the book a sense of completion, it really helps bring the book to life.

I am an educator at my local nature center, and when I saw this book I was very excited. I love that this book exist, because this is such an important topic in the environmental world. I really liked the illustrations and thought that it was written well so that children can follow along.

This book gives an in depth and understandable explanation of how the removal and reintroduction of an apex predator (wolves) impacts an ecosystem (Yellowstone National Park). The book explains the effects not only on the animals directly preyed upon by the wolves but also on the smaller animals, the plants, the birds, etc. This is the best book I've read to explain to middle grade readers how one animal's lose or introduction can change an entire ecosystem.

Beautifully illustrated and full of easy to understand information about how the return of the gray wolf to Yellowstone National Park helped restore the ecosystem. Also emphasizes the symbiotic nature of everything, which is a wonderful lesson to learn at an early age.