Booklist Starred Review!

This picture book starring two of the first environmental activists has enough wolves-are-circling danger, David-versus-Goliath conflict, and stunning graphics to keep readers riveted throughout. Married couple Olaus (a biologist) and Mardy (an agriculturalist) Murie spent decades from 1927 on observing animals and nature in the Arctic, and their work ultimately resulted in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska and the Wilderness Act, both instituted in the 1960s. But this action-packed story doesn’t give dates that could bog down young readers (until the back matter); instead, the focus is on the fun Olaus and Mardy had canoeing, snowshoeing, rafting, and dogsledding, and the beauty of the Arctic wildlife and land they witnessed firsthand. A section is devoted to how Native people sheltered them, guided them through dangerous territories, and taught them how to respect the land’s resources and creatures. The illustrations, with bold, strongly contrasting colors and perspectives that leap off the page, beautifully evoke the WPA-style travel and conservation posters of the 1930s, when the Muries were exploring the Arctic. Double-page spreads showing Olaus and Murdy standing in front of Arctic animals while large men in suits stand in front of tree stumps and smokestacks effectively contrast the forces for profit (in a brown/gray hellscape) and forces for conservation (in an idyllic setting). Both gripping and inspiring.