| Author Website Page |
| Jean Craighead George |
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| Copyright 2008 - 2009 © Barry M. Baker, Canines-and-Felines.com |
Jean Craighead George was born in
Washington, D.C. and raised in a family
of naturalists, Jean George has
centered her life around writing and
Washington, D.C. and raised in a family
of naturalists, Jean George has
centered her life around writing and
nature. She attended Pennsylvania State University, graduating with
degrees in English and science. In the 1940s she was a member of the
White House press corps and a reporter for the Washington Post. Ms.
George, who has written over 100 books - among them My Side of the
Mountain (Dutton), a 1960 Newbery Honor Book, and its sequels On the
Far Side of the Mountain and Frightful's Mountain (both Dutton) - also
hikes, canoes, and makes sourdough pancakes. In 1991, Ms. George
became the first winner of the School Library Media Section of the New
York Library Association's Knickerbocker Award for Juvenile Literature,
which was presented to her for the "consistent superior quality" of her
literary works.
Her inspiration for the Newbery Medal-winning Julie of the Wolves
evolved from two specific events during a summer she spent studying
wolves and tundra at the Arctic Research Laboratory of Barrow, Alaska:
"One was a small girl walking the vast ad lonesome tundra outside of
Barrow; the other was a magnificent alpha male wolf, leader of a pack in
Denali National Park ... They haunted me for a year or more, as did the
words of one of the scientists at the lab: 'If there ever was any doubt in
my mind that a man could live with the wolves, it is gone now. The wolves
are truly gentlemen, highly social and affectionate.'"
The mother of three children, Jean George is a grandmother who has
joyfully red to her grandchildren since they were born. Over the years
Jean George has kept 173 pets, not including dogs and cats, in her
home in Chappaqua, New York. "Most of these wild animals depart in
autumn, when the sun changes their behavior and they feel the urge to
migrate or go off alone. While they are with us, however, they become
characters in my books, articles, and stories."
degrees in English and science. In the 1940s she was a member of the
White House press corps and a reporter for the Washington Post. Ms.
George, who has written over 100 books - among them My Side of the
Mountain (Dutton), a 1960 Newbery Honor Book, and its sequels On the
Far Side of the Mountain and Frightful's Mountain (both Dutton) - also
hikes, canoes, and makes sourdough pancakes. In 1991, Ms. George
became the first winner of the School Library Media Section of the New
York Library Association's Knickerbocker Award for Juvenile Literature,
which was presented to her for the "consistent superior quality" of her
literary works.
Her inspiration for the Newbery Medal-winning Julie of the Wolves
evolved from two specific events during a summer she spent studying
wolves and tundra at the Arctic Research Laboratory of Barrow, Alaska:
"One was a small girl walking the vast ad lonesome tundra outside of
Barrow; the other was a magnificent alpha male wolf, leader of a pack in
Denali National Park ... They haunted me for a year or more, as did the
words of one of the scientists at the lab: 'If there ever was any doubt in
my mind that a man could live with the wolves, it is gone now. The wolves
are truly gentlemen, highly social and affectionate.'"
The mother of three children, Jean George is a grandmother who has
joyfully red to her grandchildren since they were born. Over the years
Jean George has kept 173 pets, not including dogs and cats, in her
home in Chappaqua, New York. "Most of these wild animals depart in
autumn, when the sun changes their behavior and they feel the urge to
migrate or go off alone. While they are with us, however, they become
characters in my books, articles, and stories."
To her small Eskimo village, she is known as Miyax; to
her friend in San Francisco, she is Julie. When the
village is no longer safe for her, Miyax runs away. But
she soon finds herself lost in the Alaskan wilderness,
without food, without even a compass to guide her.
Slowly she is accepted by a pack of Arctic wolves, Mid
she grows to love them as though they were family. With
their help, and drawing on her father's teachings, Miyax
her friend in San Francisco, she is Julie. When the
village is no longer safe for her, Miyax runs away. But
she soon finds herself lost in the Alaskan wilderness,
without food, without even a compass to guide her.
Slowly she is accepted by a pack of Arctic wolves, Mid
she grows to love them as though they were family. With
their help, and drawing on her father's teachings, Miyax
Julie of the Wolves
struggles day by clay to survive. But the time comes when she must
leave the wilderness and choose between the old ways an(] the new.
Which will she choose? For she is Miyax of the Eskimos--but Julie of the
Wolves.
Faced with the prospect of a disagreeable arranged marriage or a
journey acoss the barren Alaskan tundra, 13-year-old Miyax chooses the
tundra. She finds herself caught between the traditional Eskimo ways and
the modern ways of the whites. Miyax, or Julie as her pen pal Amy calls
her, sets out alone to visit Amy in San Francisco, a world far away from
Eskimo culture and the frozen land of Alaska.
During her long and arduous journey, Miyax comes to appreciate the
value of her Eskimo heritage, learns about herself, and wins the
friednship of a pack of wolves. After learning the language of the wolves
and slowly earning their trust, Julie becomes a member of the pack.
Since its first publication, Julie of The Wolves,winner of thr 1973 Newbery
Medal, has found its way into the hearts of millions of readers.
leave the wilderness and choose between the old ways an(] the new.
Which will she choose? For she is Miyax of the Eskimos--but Julie of the
Wolves.
Faced with the prospect of a disagreeable arranged marriage or a
journey acoss the barren Alaskan tundra, 13-year-old Miyax chooses the
tundra. She finds herself caught between the traditional Eskimo ways and
the modern ways of the whites. Miyax, or Julie as her pen pal Amy calls
her, sets out alone to visit Amy in San Francisco, a world far away from
Eskimo culture and the frozen land of Alaska.
During her long and arduous journey, Miyax comes to appreciate the
value of her Eskimo heritage, learns about herself, and wins the
friednship of a pack of wolves. After learning the language of the wolves
and slowly earning their trust, Julie becomes a member of the pack.
Since its first publication, Julie of The Wolves,winner of thr 1973 Newbery
Medal, has found its way into the hearts of millions of readers.
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