Long before its establishment as a national park in 1872, Yellowstone was home to the gray wolf, as well as other large predators. But the relationship between human and wolf has always been a tense and complicated one. Predator control programs were developed and, by the mid-1900s, wolves had almost been entirely eliminated from the region and even the lower United States. The removal of even one strand of an ecosystem's complex web can have a ripple effect, though. Using the structure of "The House that Jack Built," science writer Mary Kay Carson shows the interconnectedness of the wildlife that lives in a place and how the presence (or absence) of a single species can impact an ecosystem so that the physical landscape itself is altered. Engaging text and colorful detailed artwork make the natural science understandable and accessible to young readers. With so many of Earth's ecosystems under threat by climate change, pollution, and loss of habitat, this is a critical and timely topic. Back matter includes information on the Yellowstone region during the wolves' absence and after their reintroduction.

Author: Mary Kay Carson
Mary Kay Carson first saw gray wolves—and heard them howl!—in Yellowstone while on a book research trip for Park Scientists: Gila Monsters, Geysers, and Grizzly Bears in America’s Own Backyard. The author’s many books have received more than a dozen starred reviews and a number of awards. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her photographer husband in a century-old house surrounded by urban greenspace, deer, hawks, woodchucks, and songbirds. Find out more at marykaycarson.com.

Illustrator: David Hohn
David Hohn is the illustrator of Just Like Beverly: A Biography of Beverly Cleary, which garnered starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and Booklist. He lives in Portland, Oregon.