Two feral children were found living with wolves in 1920 in northeastern India, near Medinipur. Jane Yolen was inspired by diary records of that time to create
Children of the Wolf (published in 1984). It's a fascinating story, even though there is some dispute about the historical facts. Yolen chose to tell it in the voice of 14-year-old Mohandas, who lives at the Christian orphanage where the two wild girls were brought. It isn't a happy story, because Yolen remains true to the inherent tragic circumstances and misguided good intentions on the part of adult caregivers.
This book will make a good complement to the two books our Two Bichons club will be discussing in January:
Wild Dogs by Helen Humphreys and
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George. Cindi, a member of our book club, loaned her personal copy to me and I am impressed by the high quality book design. Viking Press used a lovely thick paper that shows no signs of yellowing 27 years after publication. I also really like the font used for the chapter titles and cover title (see dust jacket image).
I read this book when I was a kid and LOVED it.
ReplyDeleteYes, Yolen writes a cracking good story and this one works on several levels. Among other things, I enjoyed the subtle parallels between the attempts to tame the girls and the "civilizing" influence of Christianity.
ReplyDeleteWhat was it about the font that you liked so much?
ReplyDeleteI love all the curves. The Es are obvious, but you might not be able to see that the diagonal crossbar on the N also has a slight bow to it. The bottom stroke on the L is very slightly curved too. I also like how the font is sort of half-way between a serif and sans - the serifs are so subtle. An even more subtle touch is that the two top open spaces on the W (and bottom of the M) are of different widths. It's all so elegant! Does anyone know what this font is called?
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