ABOUT THE BOOK
Why Wolves Matter: A Conservation Success Story
Written and Illustrated by Karen B. Winnick
Ages: 7-9 | 40 Pages
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group (2025) | ISBN: 979-8886452846
Publisher’s Book Summary: Where did all the wolves go? The birds, the fish, and the beavers? When the top predator was wiped out, the balance of nature in Yellowstone National Park was disrupted. The circle was broken.
Written in a lyrical style, Why Wolves Matter is an ecological tale that helps children to understand the interconnectedness of all things in the natural world. Once all the wolves were gone, the elk population grew so large that the trees and vegetation on which they fed disappeared, throwing the Park and the remaining wildlife into disarray.
A nonfiction picture book, including a timeline and bibliography, Why Wolves Matter is about the importance of the top predator in nature, how balance was restored in Yellowstone National Park, and how the circle was made whole again—with important historical and scientific relevance for children.
A deeply committed animal person, Karen B. Winnick has created many picture books about animals. She’s a member of an oversight commission for the Los Angeles Zoo, and a member and supporter of many groups working to save animals, including wolves.
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MY REVIEW
Keystone species are just that - KEY to their ecosystems. When humans eliminated wolves in the Yellowstone area, the entire ecosystem suffered. This picture book depicts the cascade effects from the removal of wolves by leaving blank white spaces to show the various species that also disappeared. Outlines of birds, fish, and beavers illustrate the loss of various pieces within Yellowstone as the system tipped out of balance. Readers can see how the overpopulation of the elk led to overgrazing which led to loss of habitat for other animals and so on…and so on. The author circles the story around from the early days of a balanced ecosystem, through the times of disappearing species, and back again to the reintroduction of the wolves and the recovery of the area. While many kids hear about food chains in science lessons, they do not always grasp the interdependence of the animals and plants involved. Reading this book would make it very clear how intertwined the environment of an area is and how removing one key piece can bring it all crashing down. An author’s note, timeline of key events, and extensive bibliography make this book useful in classrooms and libraries, even beyond the appeal to individual readers.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Karen serves as President of the Board of Commissioners for the Los Angeles Zoo; the Board of Trustees Emeritus at Brown University; the Board of Trustees at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library; the Board of Trustees of Fauna and Flora, International and the Board of Governors Syracuse University Hillel. She has also served on the Board of Trustees of The Jewish Museum in New York and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Council in Washington, D.C.
Karen received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Syracuse University. She also studied in Florence, Italy, at NYU, the School of Visual Arts, and at the University of California, Los Angeles.
For more information, visit karenbwinnick.com.
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This post is sponsored by Karen B. Winnick. The review and opinions expressed in this post are based on my personal views.
