“The year I turned twelve, I learned that what I said and what I did mattered. So much, sometimes, that I wasn't sure I wanted such a burden. But I took it anyway, and I carried it as best I could.”
Annabelle, a young girl on the verge of 12, befriends a World War II veteran, is bullied by a complicated new girl in a rural Pennsylvania community in 1943, and learns that fidelity and truth are lifelong endeavors difficult to practice but essential to human thriving. Under a spell of thoughtfulness, Wolk writes a haunting coming of age story that is beautifully simple with heartbreaking honesty. From author Jennifer Donnelly's NYTimes review, "Annabelle narrates in the past tense, and Wolk uses this device to great effect, masterfully balancing a mood of aching regret with an electric sense of ominousness. Painting rural life with an even hand, she shows its beauty and its hardship, the strong ties that bind people who live in the country and the intolerance that sometimes finds root there."
For the student that longs for quiet places, this is a story with the secret power to take you there.
For the toolkit:
Wolf Hollow would be an excellent read for a social emotional learning book club specifically for girls. Wolk's sets up the readers to discuss at length issues related to empathy, honesty, and moral complexity tha many young girls around ages 11-12 are ready to talk about.
For the advanced writers in 5th and 6th grade, students may enjoy reading this interview where Wolk explains having got the idea for Wolf Hollow from family history and memories of life in the 1940s. It could act as a springboard for young readers to begin writing their own work of fiction based on personal experiences.
Photography plays an important role in the story. Young readers could make their own photo-tale, using digital phones to storyboard a memory that explores the themes in this book.
You may also like:
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, for the student ready to expand their old fashioned vocabulary and dive further into themes around justice and honesty.
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Karen Barnhill, is an excellent like-minded book set in a completely different time. Barnhill explores themes of misunderstanding and prejudice, making the tale a kind of moral book end to ta tale like Wolf Hollow.
Bully by Patricia Polacco, is an emotionally drawn picture book that takes a direct, more modern look at bullying in the school context.
Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk
Dutton, 2016
291 pages
Ages 8-12
For the student that longs for quiet places, this is a story with the secret power to take you there.
For the toolkit:
Wolf Hollow would be an excellent read for a social emotional learning book club specifically for girls. Wolk's sets up the readers to discuss at length issues related to empathy, honesty, and moral complexity tha many young girls around ages 11-12 are ready to talk about.
For the advanced writers in 5th and 6th grade, students may enjoy reading this interview where Wolk explains having got the idea for Wolf Hollow from family history and memories of life in the 1940s. It could act as a springboard for young readers to begin writing their own work of fiction based on personal experiences.
Photography plays an important role in the story. Young readers could make their own photo-tale, using digital phones to storyboard a memory that explores the themes in this book.
You may also like:
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, for the student ready to expand their old fashioned vocabulary and dive further into themes around justice and honesty.
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Karen Barnhill, is an excellent like-minded book set in a completely different time. Barnhill explores themes of misunderstanding and prejudice, making the tale a kind of moral book end to ta tale like Wolf Hollow.
Bully by Patricia Polacco, is an emotionally drawn picture book that takes a direct, more modern look at bullying in the school context.
Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk
Dutton, 2016
291 pages
Ages 8-12