Rosanne Parry

Rosanne Parry returns to animal fiction in this gripping story of two young orcas who must find their way after a series of tragedies separate them from their pod. Used to following her Greatmother, who is the wayfinder for their group, Vega nevertheless has some potential as a wayfinder herself. Grieving the death of her newborn sister, Capella, she leaves her family pod in anger, determined to take the baby's remains to a special spot. Her younger brother Deneb follows after her, show more determined to bring her back to the family. While thus separated from the larger group, a terrible undersea earthquake occurs, and together with much of the marine life of the Salish Sea, Vega and Deneb head desperately for the safety of the open ocean, where the depths will provide them a refuge from the destructive waves that are coming. Having endured this natural disaster, the siblings must find a way to survive going forward, and Vega takes her place as the wayfinder. But can she find the salmon that she and her brother need to survive? And will they ever be reunited with their family...?

I absolutely loved Parry's A Wolf Called Wander, about the lonely journey of a wolf whose pack had been attacked and dispersed, and who traveled the Oregon wilderness, looking for a new home and family, so I picked up A Whale of the Wild with a great deal of anticipation. That anticipation was made all the keener by the fact that it was illustrated by Lindsay Moore, whose picture-book, Sea Bear: A Journey for Survival, I found both beautiful and moving. Happily, I was not disappointed on either score, finding the story here immensely engaging, and the artwork simply lovely. There were moments of great sadness in the story, and moments of wonder as well, and Parry did an excellent job capturing the perspectives of Vega and Deneb throughout their many experiences, incorporating interesting information about orcas - the fact that they share food in their pods, or that they never attack humans - into her text in a natural way. I found myself utterly engrossed in this tale, hoping against hope that the pair would find the rest of their family, and overjoyed at every success they experienced. The dangers of life in the wild - some natural, some manmade - make the story more suspenseful as well, and I was so relieved when, having found Aquila and Altair, Vega was able to lead them to salmon in time to save the former from the hunger sickness. I was also struck by the scene in which Vega and her brother work with the humans on shore, to restore the river where the salmon spawn, and came away wondering if there were real-life human/orca interactions that might have inspired that part of the story. As mentioned, the artwork was absolutely gorgeous, capturing the beauty of the orcas and the world around them, and making the reading process far more pleasurable. The detailed afterword gives more information about orcas and their world, and offers children concrete steps they can take, in helping to preserve and protect our natural world, and help the orcas.

All in all, a delightful, moving, educational and inspiring book, one I would recommend to all middle-grade readers (or readers of middle-grade fiction) who enjoy animal stories, or who appreciate tales with unusual and unexpected perspectives. show less

Born into the darkness of his den, the wolf pup Swift first understands the world through smell. One of five cubs, he is named for his eagerness to explore, and the swiftness of his development and movement. Soon initiated into the life of the pack, he comes to love everything about his home in the mountains. But when his family is attacked and scattered by a rival pack of wolves intent on securing the mountain for their own, Swift finds himself embarking on an epic journey, and struggling show more to survive as he moves from place to place in search of a new home and a new family. But will this wandering wolf ever find what he seeks...?

Beautifully written, with moments of both humor and pathos, A Wolf Called Wander was inspired by the story of a real wolf - OR-7 - who lived in Oregon's Wallowa Mountains and was tagged by biologists. In 2011 they tracked his 1000-mile journey to find a new pack. This was my first book from Rosanne Parry, an author living in Oregon, and I really enjoyed her writing. The exchanges between Swift and his father were quite humorous, and the relationship between Swift and Warm charming. Warm's death midway through the book was absolutely heartbreaking. I appreciated the fact that Parry didn't sugarcoat what life in the wild is like - as Swift learns, everything either eats or is eaten, at some point - but that she also captured the beauty of nature and the occasional possibilities of coexistence and help, between species. This latter was evident in Swift's relationship with his raven, and in the moment when he warns a horse herd of an imminent cougar attack. I enjoy animal fiction that manages to convince me it is from the animal's own realistic perspective, and this definitely fit the bill. It also had lovely artwork from Mónica Armiño. A delightful book, engaging and poignant, this is one I would recommend to young animal lovers, with the proviso that they be aware that there are some disturbing scenes. show less

Born into a herd of wild horses in the Virginia Range of western Nevada, Sky grew up surrounded by those of his kind, learning to find food and water and to sense danger. Nothing prepared him for his encounter with humanity however, and soon he had been captured and turned into a mount for Pony Express riders. Dreaming of freedom, Sky watched the world around him—its many creatures, and its many landscapes—and bided his time. But even after escaping from his human captors and returning show more to his home waters, Sky found that he still needed to fight for his true heart's desire—a reunion with his family, and a life someplace safe and free...

Having absolutely loved Rosanne Parry's earlier forays into animal fiction—A Wolf Called Wander and A Whale of the Wild—I was excited to pick up this third entry in her Voice of the Wilderness collection. I was not disappointed, finding A Horse Named Sky wonderfully engrossing. The story is gripping, and I found myself racing along, rooting for Sky the whole way. Parry has a knack for telling a story from the animal's perspective, in a way that feels both true to the animal and yet somehow also completely relatable to the human reader. I thought Sky's perception of different human races—the bay human (an African American man), the dark-maned colt (a young Native American boy)—was so well done, as he interprets these physical differences in an entirely equine way, equating them to different colors and features a horse might have, while totally missing their significance to the humans themselves. Thus it is that he cannot understand why the Native American boy who cares for him is mistreated by the adults in his life, and reflects in consternation that the members of his own family always carefully looked out for their foals. As is so often the case, when animal fiction is well done, it holds up a mirror to humanity, offering insight and lessons. This is also true in the terrible section featuring the mine, in which Sky must fight to free the horses and burros held captive there. If there were aspects I found somewhat unrealistic—the speed with which Sky was convinced to bear a rider after being wild all his life, the success of Sky and Storm in freeing the equine captives—I was willing to overlook them, in my enjoyment of the story overall.

As much as I love the story here, as well as the extensive back matter giving more information about the flora and fauna found in the story, as well as the history of the region, I also love the accompanying illustrations done by Kirbi Fagan. These were frequent, well-suited to section of the story they accompanied, and just lovely! All in all, a wonderful addition to Parry's growing body of animal fiction for middle grade readers. I would highly recommend it to readers who enjoy this kind of fare. For my own part, I look forward to reading the next, A Wolf Called Fire. show less

Author Rosanne Parry returns here to the close-knit lupine family who appeared in her first work of animal fiction, A Wolf Called Wander, this time telling the story of Warm, one of the five wolf cubs whose family is attacked and dispersed in that earlier book. Smaller and gentler than his litter mates, Warm seems destined to become a watcher like Growl, and as a yearling becomes involved in the care of his four younger siblings. When the pack is attacked, Warm leads the pups away on his show more mother's instructions, and finds himself in the unexpected role of leader. Tracking down Swift—his litter mate, and the hero of A Wolf Called Wander—he believes he has found the leader they need, only to be parted again. Now Warm must find a way to care for the pups, and lead them to safety. But how can one lone wolf protect and feed them, and what will he do when the ice wolves who destroyed his family come hunting for them...?

The fourth book in Parry's Voice of the Wilderness collection featuring engaging animal stories, and a direct follow-up to A Wolf Called Wander, A Wolf Called Fire is every bit and engrossing, entertaining and ultimately heartwarming as its predecessors. Like Wander in the earlier book, Warm is based on a real-life wolf, in this case Wolf 8, who was part of the group of wolves reintroduced at Yellowstone. Like the wolf who inspired him, Warm is atypical in some ways for a leader, being smaller and gentler, and less dominant in his treatment of others in his pack. But also like that real-life wolf, he has qualities—faithfulness, resourcefulness, the ability to work with a team and take each member's strengths into account, the willingness to meet each pack member's needs—that make for a successful alpha. Much as in the earlier books, I was rooting for Warm the entire time, and enjoyed seeing his journey from an insecure pup named Warm to a wise young leader called Fire. Also like the earlier books, I enjoyed the profuse illustrations here, contributed by Spanish artist Mónica Armiño, who likewise worked on A Wolf Called Wander, and I appreciated the informative section at the rear, with information about wolves, and the flora, fauna and geology of the mountain and prairie homes in Oregon where they live. Highly recommended to all young readers who enjoy animal fiction, as well as to anyone who read and enjoyed A Wolf Called Wander and the other books in the Voice of the Wilderness collection. I hope Parry continues to write other stories in this vein! show less