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Julie of the Wolves, a la Shmoop. With over 7 billion people clogging the planet,
it's a pretty good bet that wherever you are, someone else is going to be there with you.
So, if you're looking for a little privacy . . .
. . . you might be out of luck. In Jean Craighead George's Julie of the Wolves,
a young Eskimo girl named Miyax , aka Julie, finds herself alone. . .
. . . and we mean really alone . . . . . . on the Alaskan tundra.
Now, we're not advocating anything as drastic as playing Survivor In The Snow just to get
a few minutes to yourself . . . . . . but Julie's predicament got us thinking.
Would it be so bad to be stranded in the middle of nowhere for a while?
Some things would be pretty sweet. Since no one has gotten around to building
any schools on the frozen wilderness . . . . . . there wouldn't be any homework.
At least not the kind of homework you're used to.
The peace and quiet would be a beautiful thing . . .
. . . even if you have to occasionally fend off your fellow companions, who look at you
like you're an item on the Chipotle menu. But let's not concentrate on the negative.
Not all of your wolf friends would be interested in having you for dinner.
Some of them might be interested in becoming your new BFFs.
Everyone knows that animals, at least the ones who aren't trying to eat you, are more
loyal and trustworthy than most of the people you meet.
They sure wouldn't be talking about you behind your back while you're off foraging for food.
And while we're on the subject of food, you'd better pack a fishing pole.
Not thrilled with fish? Well, you could always go vegan . . .
. . . or work on that "30 Minute Meals for Caribou" cookbook
C'mon. Admit it. Hanging out alone on the tundra is starting to sound better and better,
isn't it? But wait. Roughing it means no TV. No iPods.
No computers.
You've had a hard day of foraging for food. Fending off wild animals. Building fires to
keep warm.
What's a kid supposed to do for entertainment? How would you feel about coming up with "101
uses for snow" or "57 games that can be played with rocks"?
We thought so. Hey, we never said being alone in the wilderness was going to be easy.
But maybe the next time your teacher is bugging you for that missing homework . . .
. . . or your parents make you spend an entire Sunday with an aunt and uncle you haven't
seen since you were two . . . . . . that tundra might start looking pretty
darn good. Shmoop amongst yourselves.