Wandering Woolly

By: Andrea Gabriel
Publisher: Arbordale Publishing
Publication Date: May 2015
ISBN: 978-1628555677
Reviewed by: Deb Fowler
Review Date: June 2, 2015

Little Woolly's eyes widened as she peeked out at her new world. She nestled close to her furry mother, but soon she heard the voice of a toad. Little Woolly watched closely as the toad scrambled to get away from her. Nothing in her new world could hurt her because "the voices of her aunties rumbled in her ears and vibrated in the ground." All the other mammoths were "busy picking grasses with their two-fingered trunks," but Little Woolly wanted to head to that winding river at the valley's edge.

Little Wooly's mother called out to her as the aunties looked on. The river was alive with motion as chunks of ice and boulders tumbled by. Rumble, tumble, splash! Watch out Little Woolly because you could get hurt! All of a sudden "ice splintered and toppled off the glacier" and into the churning river she plopped. Down the river she went, bobbing in the current. What were those unusual creatures she began to see along the banks of the river? Look, there's a ground sloth in the trees. Watch out, there's a hunting lion looking at her!

A log kept Little Woolly above the water and now she floated down the river. There were all kinds of interesting creatures, including humans. Little Woolly "could smell the smoke of their fires and hear the barking of their dogs." Her mother and aunties seemed so very far away and she so wanted to go home to them. Little Woolly was somehow able to get up on the grassy banking. She lowered her head and trunk to the ground and "she listened with her feet," but would she ever be able to find her way home again?

This is an interesting look at Little Woolly and her Ice Age world young children will enjoy. This tale, presented in picture book format, is a simple, but easy way for young students to be introduced to the Ice Age and its inhabitants. In addition to learning a bit about the life of the woolly mammoths, we learn many additional concepts and facts in the back matter. There is a section detailing Ice Age sequencing, additional information about elephants and woolly mammoths, the Clovis people, and extinct animals from the era. In addition there are four pages of activities and there are free complementary activities on the publisher's website. This is an excellent read and discuss book for students in the homeschool or classroom setting.

Accelerated Reader: 3.1
Lexile: 660l
Fountas and Pinnell: N

Quill says: This is an interesting look at Little Woolly and her Ice Age world young children will enjoy!