By Eric Walters Olga Barinova

Orca Book Publishers

April 14, 2026

Fiction

Novel

ThemesEmotions & Social AwarenessNature and environment

Age / Grade 6-8 / Grades 1-3 Early Reader

Nine-year-old Andrew’s parents run an animal rescue center from their home. When they get a call about a wolf hit by a vehicle, they rush to the scene to find the wolf’s three orphaned wolf pups.

The pups are unable to survive on their own, and the family brings them home to care for them. Andrew forms a strong bond with the pups, feeding them and even sleeping outside their pen so they feel less scared. He promises to do everything he can so the pups can be re-released into the wild. With the help of a local trapper, Andrew and his family locate the pups’ old den and leave a blanket with their scent to help the pack remember them. Soon the pups are old enough for release. Even though Andrew wants them to be free, it’s hard to let them go. He will miss them, but this was always the plan: for the wolves to get back to their wilderness home and rejoin their pack.