Wolfstongue

Wolfstongue, Book 1

By: Sam Thompson

Narrated by: John Voce

Deep in the Forest, the foxes live in an underground city built by their wolf slaves. The foxes' leader Reynard controls everything with his clever talk.

Silas is bullied at school because his words will not come. He wishes he could live in silence as animals do. One day Silas helps an injured wolf. Then he enters the secret world of the Forest, where the last remaining wolves fight to survive. But even there, language is power.

Can Silas find his voice in time to help his wolf friends – can he become the Wolfstongue?

©2021 Sam Thompson (P)2021 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

'An unforgettable fable. Raw, devastating and brilliantly written.' (Lucy Strange, author of The Ghost of Gosswater)

'A fiercely gentle tale, heartwarming and brave.' (Myra Zepf, winner of the KPMG/CBI Children’s Book of the Year 2020)

'A startling entrance into children’s fiction.' (Pet O’Connell, The Echo)

'The wolves are looking for a human child whom they call Wolfstongue: “The child would be our voice, so that we would not need to speak any longer. So that we could live as wolves ought to live. Free from words.” Silas, the only human child on the scene, is the obvious candidate, and talking isn’t his strong suit. To save the wolves he will have to find his voice.' (New York Times)

'I predict howls of approval — and prizes...This wonderful tale has all the makings of a modern classic with its exhilarating mix of ancient fable and contemporary issues. ... Not since Watership Down have animal dynamics felt so true and the political undertones so live.' (The Times)

'It may sound like standard fantasy stuff, but the writing raises this to classic status. Like Ursula K Le Guin’s immortal Earthsea books, Wolfstongue is partly about language – in this case a sinister power that deprives animals of their natural freedom. Gripping and profound, Wolfstongue may be for children but it is about being human.' (The New Statesman)