The Last Wolf

Confined to bed by illness, Michael McLeod is taught by his granddaughter Miya to use the internet, and starts to research his family history. He soon meets an American relative online, and she sends him the life story written by their ancestor Robbie McLeod, who left Scotland for America after Bonnie Prince Charlie's failed rebellion in 1745. Robbie's story is an exciting one. Orphaned as a baby, he passed a wretched childhood then found brief happiness with the Dunbars. But when Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his standard they went to fight for him, and after the disastrous battle of Culloden Robbie left his foster-father dying of wounds and fled to the Highlands to escape King George's soldiers. There, lonely and frightened, he meets an orphaned wolfcub, Charlie, whom he adopts. Together they journey across the sea to America, where Robbie makes a new life to himself and, sadly but ungrudgingly, watches Charlie leave him to find his own new life among his kind. This is a satisfying story, beautifully told and with the contemporary framing sections linking Robbie's tale to the present day. Morpurgo perfectly captures the 18th-century style in Robbie's writing without making it in any way inaccessible. Michael Foreman's illustrations complement the story exactly and his pictures of the vast mountains of the Highlands and terrifying storms at sea add drama and excitement. This is an excellent introduction to a sad period in Scottish history and its effect on those who lived through it. Ages 8+ (Kirkus UK)