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Kavik the Wolf Dog by Walt Morey – Retro Review By Kim Campbell
Like many Nerdy Book Club members, I regularly shop at thrift stores for books for my students. I’m always hoping to spot one of my favorites on the shelves: Kavik the Wolf Dog by Walt Morey. Finding a copy of this book can wipe away my feelings of guilt about shopping when instead I should be: grading, cleaning, family-timing. Yes, it’s that good.
My journey collecting Kaviks started about five years ago, after my first year of teaching. I was looking online for recommendations for fourth graders and a thoughtful educator suggested Kavik. I have used the novel ever since for adventure and survival book clubs, and I routinely loan it to colleagues. It even transitioned well to fifth grade when I made the switch several years ago.
Although published in 1968, Kavik has many elements that make it a good middle grade read for today:
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a relationship between a young teen and a dog
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an adventure full of obstacles
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a classic, but not too dated feel
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a decent vocabulary (With gems like “absurdity” and “palatial,” I often use it with more advanced readers, but it is not out of reach for others.)
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the surprise factor: few, if any, students have heard of it
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a manageable size (especially for a book club): 192 pages
The author, Mr. Morey, also wrote Gentle Ben. I’ve always wanted to read that famous book, but haven’t, perhaps because I feel I know the author well through Kavik. “This book is dedicated to all young people from six to sixty who have known the love of an animal,” explains Morey in the opening pages. Kavik takes place in one of Morey’s favorite settings – Alaska – and in the Pacific Northwest, where he lived. I wish I had discovered Kavik when I was younger and falling for novels about the natural world, such as Jack London’s White Fang. Morey’s writing easily fits alongside London’s – and Jean Craighead George’s and Gary Paulsen’s. His appreciation for nature is obvious in his description of everything from Kavik’s build to thawing snowpack. Aiding the imagery is a handful of drawings by well-known illustrator Peter Parnall.
In the book, the boy and the dog first meet after a small plane carrying a prize sled dog goes missing. Andy stumbles upon the crash and decides to put the barely surviving animal out of its misery: “He was about to pull the trigger when the dog’s eyes opened and looked at the boy,” Morey writes. “The blue eyes of the boy and yellow ones of the dog studied each other. His eyes held the boy’s with as direct a gaze as Andy had ever known. Scarcely realizing what he was doing, Andy tilted the rifle muzzle away and eased back the bolt.”
Andy and Kavik form a strong bond, but problems arise when the dog’s wealthy owner, who lives out of state, wants him returned. Some of the questions my students wrote last year on their book club anchor charts offer a few hints (as does the cover) about how the rest of the story unfolds:
Will Andy get Kavik back?
Will Kavik escape back into the wild?
Will Kavik stay with the female wolf?
Will Mr. Hunter find Kavik or will Kavik find Andy?
Is there going to be a second book?
Kavik builds to a satisfying conclusion, one that doesn’t require too many tissues. It is a book for dog lovers, nature lovers, and good-story lovers. If you’ve read Kavik or are using it in your classroom or library, I’d love to hear about your experiences. If not, what’s your favorite thrift-store find?
Kim Campbell is a fifth grade teacher in Colorado. She regularly draws inspiration from folks in the Nerdy Book Club and the National Writing Project, and from scores of educators and authors on Twitter. She’s in the process of launching a blog, and can be found on Twitter @kacwrites.
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Kim, I found KAVIK last year when looking for something my remedial students hadn’t read (6/7 grade). When one of the PE teachers saw I was using it, she said it had been a read aloud in her 4th grade class and she had always loved it! My students and I enjoyed it, too. There is a video, dated as you can imagine, but pretty well done and faithful to the story. Those oldies can be treasures.
Brooks – Great story. I like that the book prompted reading connections around the building. I am going to have to watch the movie now (especially if it’s faithful). Thanks for recommending it.
The only book my brother would read as a kid was KAVIK. Every time a book report was due, he would re-read the book and write a new report (he always did the work fresh–never recycled the old reports). I recently found it in a used bookstore and passed it along to his kids….
Lisa – What I love about this is that your brother found something new to say about the book every time! That’s a testament to him…and the book. I hope his kids enjoy it. It’s worthy of a new generation.
Hadn’t heard of this one before- thanks for the post. As an avid dog lover, I’ll have to check it out.
Jane – I hope you do. It really is one that deserves to be included among we’ll known dog books. Thanks for your comment.
*well* known
I inherited a summer reading book list when I accepted a 4th grade position 4 years ago. Kavik was on the list. I spent the summer reading the books on the list, and Kavik was the stand out! I now change the summer reading list every year, but Kavik always stays on since I know kids won’t find it any other way. It is so good!
Roommom – Thanks for sharing your story, and for making sure kids know about this book. I share your enthusiasm for it! One of the best things about it to me is Kavik’s perseverance. I am excited to share it with a new group of students this year.
I so love this book! Found it 20 (!) years ago when I started teaching and my kids have always loved it. I’m so happy to see other people love it too!
Becky – I feel the same way: It’s been great to learn there are others out there who value this book. Thanks for sharing your Kavik love!
Walt Morey taught my son, a struggling 4th grader, to read back in the 1980s — he’s a middle school language arts teacher today and still uses Morey’s books. If you enjoy Kavik, then try Scrub Dog of Alaska. Pairing the two is wonderful way to help students learn to compare and contrast. Anything Walt Morey wrote is worth reading!
Kavik is my favorite too … Right up there wit My Side of the Mount by Jean Craighead George. I’ve read Kavik to hundreds of students since it was first published!