Freedom's Howl: Song of the Red Wolves

In a cozy, sheltered den in the woods, four Red Wolf puppies are born. Their parents and older brothers will nurture and teach them through the summer and fall, as they learn to mark, hunt, and howl. In a cabin not far away, a young widow named Sally Few cares for her five-year-old twins, Sarah and Will. A howl from the woods makes Sally uneasy, but the children respond with wonder to the Red Wolf’s song.

With lyrical prose and lavishly detailed illustrations, Eileen Heyes, Anne Marshall Runyon, and Steven Petruccio bring these two families to life. Freedom’s Howl: The Song of the Red Wolves looks back to 1776, a time when Red Wolves were a top predator in what is now the southeastern United States. Today, Red Wolves are in trouble. They are the most critically endangered canid species in the world. A final section updates readers on the Red Wolves’ plight, offering advice on ways young people can help pull this uniquely American carnivore back from the brink of extinction.

This book was supported by America 250 NC and the Richard H. Jenrette Foundation.

Eileen Heyes grew up in California and has called North Carolina home for more than three decades. Her lifelong love of writing led her into a career in newspaper journalism, which lasted until the early 2000s. By that time, she had published five books for young people, which have been honored by the New York Public Library, Society of School Librarians International, Child Study Council, and Mystery Writers of America. A perpetual student, she earned a certificate in documentary arts from the Center for Documentary Studies and a master’s degree in English from N.C. State University. Her most recent book, Bountiful Red Acres: Two Farms, Two Families, and a Year on the Land, was selected as the 2024 Great Reads from Great Places youth book by the North Carolina Humanities, and was also highlighted at the Library of Congress National Book Festival; the American Library Association named it a Notable Government Document of 2023. Eileen lives in Raleigh with her brilliant husband and a bossy dog.