• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7
• Reading age: 9 to 12

The Sea Wolves sets out to disprove the notion of "the Big Bad Wolf," especially as it is applied to coastal wolves—a unique strain of wolf that lives in the rainforest along the Pacific coast of Canada.

Genetically distinct from their inland cousins and from wolves in any other part of the world, coastal wolves can swim like otters and fish like the bears with whom they share the rainforest. Smaller than the gray wolves that live on the other side of the Coast Mountains, these wolves are highly social and fiercely intelligent creatures. Living in the isolated wilderness of the Great Bear Rainforest, coastal wolves have also enjoyed a unique relationship with man. The First Nations people, who have shared their territory for thousands of years, do not see them as a nuisance species but instead have long offered the wolf a place of respect and admiration within their culture.

Illustrated with almost one hundred of Ian McAllister's magnificent photographs, The Sea Wolves presents a strong case for the importance of preserving the Great Bear Rainforest for the wolves, the bears and the other unique creatures that live there.

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Ian McAllister is a co-founder of the wildlife conservation organization Pacific Wild. He is an award-winning photographer and author of The Great Bear Rainforest, and his images have appeared in publications around the world. He has been honoured by the Globe & Mail as one of 133 highly accomplished Canadians, and he and his wife, Karen McAllister, were named by Time magazine one of the ""Leaders of the 21st Century"" for their efforts to protect British Columbia's endangered rainforest. He is a member of the International League of Conservation Photographers and has won the North America Nature Photography Association's Vision Award and the Rainforest Action Network's Rainforest Hero award. He lives with his family on an island in the heart of The Great Bear Rainforest.

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Ian McAllister's profile page

Nicholas Read is a journalism instructor at Langara College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He collaborated with Ian McAllister on several books, including Wolf Island, A Bear's Life, The Seal Garden and The Great Bear Sea and wrote City Critters, about urban wildlife. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Nicholas Read's profile page

• Nominated, Forest of Reading Red Maple Award
• Commended, CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens
• Short-listed, Young Readers' Choice Book Awards of British Columbia (YRCABC) Red Cedar Book Awards
• Short-listed, Rocky Mountain Book Award (RMBA)
• Commended, January Magazine Best Books for Children and Young Adults
• Commended, Resource Links, The Year's Best Books
• Short-listed, The Fitzhenry Family Foundation Lane Anderson Award
• Commended, VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) Magazine - Nonfiction Honor List
• Commended, Ontario Library association (OLA) Best Bets

"[An] informative text, filled with spectacular photographs...This book is a fascinating story of their lifecycle and habitat...Beautifully presented, each chapter is filled with many full-page illustrations of these intriguing wolves and their varying environment...Highly recommended for both school and classroom libraries as well as for personal information."

Resource Links

"The friendly, well-written and easy-flowing text makes it a great book for reading aloud to a class or for a child who enjoys reading about animals."

Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) Canadian Children’s Book News

"[A] terrific book...An engaging text, and McAllister's stunning colour photographs of coastal wolves catching salmon and raising pups in their natural habitat...provide a compelling case for protection of the rain forest and all its denizens."

The Globe and Mail

"A warm, informative introduction to a distinct strain of wolves that inhabit the British Columbian coast...In succinct, conversational language, the authors present attention grabbing facts…[and] McAllister's highly expressive, close-up photos of the beautiful animals hunting, lounging, and nuzzling will easily draw browsers…A strong choice for both classroom science units and personal reading."

Booklist

"[A] stunning presentation...Through discussion and beautiful photography the authors try to dispel the bad reputation of wolves and to make a case for protecting their environment from development. The book will be useful for environmental studies and as an example of genetic variation and adaptation within a species to the environment."

Pennsylvania School Librarians Association (PSLA) Top Forty

"A fascinating account of the lives of the wolves which inhabit BC's Great Bear Rainforest, on the northern coast. Filled with photographs of the wolves in their habitat pursuing their daily lives, this book is rich and in-depth...The prose is beautifully written...[and] wonderfully presents the many lives of the creatures which inhabit this ecologically diverse area of pristine wilderness...Visually the book is stunning, with an evocative text."

Canadian Literature

"Gorgeously photographed and informative...The book is written in an accessible almost conversational style as it dispels the "big bad wolf" mythology and describes the unique relationship with First Nations people with whom the wolf has shared their territory for thousands of years."

Puget Sound Council for Review of Children's Media

“Extensively illustrated with Ian McAllister’s photographs and written in an early accessible and conversational tone by Nicholas Read, this book would make a great classroom resource.”

Canadian Teacher Magazine

"Illustrated with stunning photographs of the wolves and bears that live in the Great Bear Rainforest on the western edge of Canada...[Sea Wolves and Salmon Bears] would be useful for classroom units on animals, ecology, [and] wilderness conservation."

Canadian Teacher

"Stunning colour photographs...show the British Columbian habitat of these incredible wolves. This title shows the cyclical beauty found in wild places and the tangible connection of all living things."

VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) Magazine

"I can't imagine the reader who wouldn't enjoy this one....The Sea Wolves is an enchanting and deeply interesting book, dense with well-shared information and informative sidebars, not to mention some very good photographs...Young naturalists will enjoy the book almost as much as their parents will."

January Magazine, Best Books of 2010

"[An] engaging account...Augmented by a bounty of sharp photos taken at close range (that say as much about this stunning section of the Pacific coast as they do about the wolves)...the authors provide a comprehensive study."

Publisher's Weekly

"The authors make an impassioned plea to see these wolves as fragile symbols of a wild setting, both of which are worthy of protection…The same exceptional photography that readers saw in The Salmon Bears also graces this publication, bringing readers up close and personal with wolf subjects engaged in everyday activities, views that few people will likely see in the wild…Highly Recommended."

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

"McAllister's stunning photographs accompany the text and provide an intriguing portrait of these fascinating animals. The text and photographs complement each other nicely and provide an in-depth examination of this species. Sidebars throughout the text offer further nuggets of information. Contact information for Pacific Wild rounds out the book. For those who want to learn more about these distinct animals, this book is a treasure trove."

Library Media Connection

"The photography is marvelous...breathtaking, even."

BookLinx

"This extensive, informative text is illustrated with remarkable photographs taken by McAllister…They show the lush, old-growth forest and rocky shoreline and a variety of animals that share this habitat, but the wolves are the stars: at rest, at play, on the prowl and catching fish…Fascinating and useful."

Kirkus Reviews

"The arresting images of wolves and their surroundings reveal McAllister's passion for his subject and his skill as a photographer. Librarians might consider purchasing the volume for its captivating, full-color photos and its introduction to a unique subject."

School Library Journal (SLJ)

The Sea Wolves: Living Wild in the Great Bear Rainforest

This book provides readers with a unique look at a special group of wolves that live on the BC coast. Unlike most wolves, Sea Wolves are appreciated and protected by the First Nations people in the Great Bear Rainforest. They have lived in harmony with these creatures for hundreds of years. With full-colour photographs and fascinating facts, which are presented on well laid out pages of text, with extended captions and fact boxes labeled as “wolf bites”, The Sea Wolves is a thought-provoking book about a “unique strain” of wolves and their beautiful coastal and rainforest habitat.

McAllister and Read also wrote The Salmon Bears, which explores the bears that live in the Great Bear Rainforest. Book and website references are included.

The Sea Wolves: Living Wild in the Great Bear Rainforest

This book provides readers with a unique look at a special group of wolves that live on the BC coast. Unlike most wolves, Sea Wolves are appreciated and protected by the First Nations people in the Great Bear Rainforest. They have lived in harmony with these creatures for hundreds of years. With full-colour photographs and fascinating facts, which are presented on well laid out pages of text, with extended captions and fact boxes labeled as “wolf bites”, The Sea Wolves is a thought-provoking book about a “unique strain” of wolves and their beautiful coastal and rainforest habitat.

McAllister and Read also wrote The Salmon Bears, which explores the bears that live in the Great Bear Rainforest. Book and website references are included.

The Sea Wolves: Living Wild in the Great Bear Rainforest

In this second book by Ian McAllister and Nicholas Read, the wildlife photographer and author once again journey to the Great Bear Rainforest of British Columbia to discover the unique wolves that live there. The format is similar to their first book, The Salmon Bears: Giants of the Great Bear Rainforest, full of magnificent photographs of the animals in their natural habitat and a chatty text that takes the reader through a year in this pristine and remarkable wilderness.

The book begins with a lament for the wolf – denigrated in story and song through the ages. The authors believe that it is time for a “different kind of book [that] told a different kind of story about wolves.” These rainforest wolves are unique in part because they live in an area that is relatively untouched by humans and so they carry on a more natural life than many wolves living in more populated areas. They are also unique in their size and habits, being smaller than any other wolves in the world and also being excellent swimmers. The book takes a conservationist approach to its topic. These wolves are an integral part of the delicate natural balance, not only of this rainforest but also of the earth, and, as First Nations people have always done, should be protected and appreciated for their important part in the natural cycle of life. We travel through the four seasons and watch the wolf pups grow and learn.

There are sidebars — “Wolf Bites ” — which answer common questions. While the narrative style of the book does not lend itself to a simple fact-gathering project, the friendly, well-written and easy-flowing text makes it a great book for reading aloud to a class or for a child who enjoys reading about animals. There is a very detailed index.

The Sea Wolves: Living Wild in the Great Bear Rainforest

The coastal wolf, a genetically distinct strain that swims and fishes, inhabits the Great Bear Rainforest on British Columbia’s rugged west coast. Smaller than grey wolves, they are highly social and fiercely intelligent creatures. They have long enjoyed a unique relationship with the First Nations people who share their territory. Illustrated with over 70 magnificent photographs, this book presents a strong case for preserving the Great Bear Rainforest.