The Wolf Girls: An Unsolved Mystery from History

Children's detective stories seem to be perpetually "in," and The Wolf Girls: An Untold Mystery from History (as with others in this series) plays on this theme quite successfully. Without giving us a name, the author introduces us to the narrator, a young girl who is curious...a trait that every detective needs! This young lady isn't curious about just anything, she's particularly curious about her fathers file of mysteries that have never been solved..."histories mysteries." The narrator then goes on to detail her "process" for trying to figure out the given mystery...first she reads as much as she can about the incident (or event), learning everything she can, and she keeps a notebook of the most important clues and information. Some of the books in this series include maps and timelines (though this one does not)! This particular "case" focuses on The Wolf Girls of Midnapore (India). With that introductory bit out of the way, the book transforms itself into a fact filled narrative of the events, beginning with the various reported origins of the girls (there were several stories about where they came from and how they got to the orphanage) and detailing their lives and the life of the man how found them. Sprinkled throughout (on "post it notes" are vocabulary definitions that may be unfamiliar to the reader). The final section is done in the notebook style, and the narrator has included questions for the reader to answer, which if answered, will help the reader figure out which of the theories are most likely...at the very least, it's an excellent opportunity for a class project (dividing students up into groups and each exploring a given theory and presenting to the class, with discussion at the end on which of the theories are most likely...and maybe even encouraging students to come up with their own theories!). The story ends with the narrator saying she's really not sure WHICH theory is right...but she's got her own and now she hopes you (the reader) do too. Each two page spread (illustration done in subtle tones which emphasize the landscape and culture of India in this poor orphanage) is given a narrative box and most include "post-it" style pink, yellow and orange boxes which define terms used in the narrative box and most include a cut out of a spiral notebook which is meant to be the narrator taking her notes...which provides additional information and/or perspective on the information given in the narrative box. I love the section on the theories...the way they are presented with questions that the reader should be able to answer directly out of the text and/or with minimal additional research. I really do think this would make an excellent group project for a classroom, or the jumping off point for a written report by a single student...or just interesting reading!! I'd say this book is idea for kids ages 8-10, as a real aloud to about age 6, older kids will enjoy reading this alone...the text is EASY...but the opportunity f