Wolf in the Snow

Photo credit Macmillan

Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell is an absolutely wonderful wordless picture book. The illustrations are very simple, yet beautiful, and move the story along nicely. This story is a gorgeous representation of kindness and the connection between humans and nature. All with very few words! The story is moving and unexpected, that I think readers can connect to and enjoy.

The simplistic lines that are uneven and moving in curvy ways create a childlike quality to the illustrations. They seem abstract from up close, yet are completely clear when you take the illustration in as a whole. This technique focuses the reader’s eye on the main character and the plot line of the story. The clearer and straighter lines draw the reader’s eye in to the important qualities that the illustrator wants you to pay attention to.

Cordell uses very few words within the illustrations to tell the story, creating an understatement. The only words that the reader sees, are “hoooooooowwwwwwlllllllll” from a distance and “whine, whine”. These are very simplistic statements, yet within the illustrations they add a little bit of sound to connect to another one of the reader’s senses. The understatement of words, means that the reader has to use the details within the illustration to gain the meaning of the story.

The way Cordell illustrated each page depict the action within the story to move both the reader and the story along. The footprints in the snow depict how far the character has gone, or the sound words in the distance show where the wolf family or the little girl’s family is in relation to the girl and the wolf. The way the young girl’s eyes get bigger when she sees the mother wolf, show the fear that she feels. These simple actions connect the reader to where the story is going and the details needs to understand the plot line.

While this story is wordless, the connection between the wolves and the little girl and the kindness they show towards each other can be seen as a call for conservation, or protecting the wolf species. This is important in the world and it’s an important concept to me. I think as long as the wolves are not hurting anything, they should be able to be a part of the earth and we should not hinder their existence. I found Wolf in the Snow to be a beautiful wordless picture book that tells a great story about kindness. I really enjoyed the illustrations and storyline. I recommend it to many readers, not just young children. Picture books are for everyone, and this picture books deserves 4.5 out of 5 stars!

No matter how old you are, Wolf in the Snow is a great story for you! The added depth of the story being wordless can bring about so many different meanings behind what the illustrations depict. Everyone can get something out of these beautiful illustrations, with their simple curvy lines, the understatement of very few words, and the depiction of action in the pictures to engage the reader. This book deserves the Caldecott medal that it won, and it deserves to be read by many!

Cordell, M. (2017). Wolf in the Snow. New York: Macmillan.