JULIE'S WOLF PACK by Jean Craighead George, illus. by Wendell Minor, HarperCollins, $14.95, 208 pages.

This is the third in a series by George about wolves in their habitat and the people of the tundra who live by and with them. In the first, "Julie of the Wolves," a Newbery Award winner for the best book of the year, the author told the compelling story of a girl who is befriended by a pack of wolves. "Julie" takes the story further as the girl returns to her home, accepts the diversity between arctic life and the enculturation of her people. In "Julie's Wolf Pack," the focus is more on the wolves with Julie and the other humans portrayed as shadow characters to the wildlife.Kapu, the son of the wolf who saved Julie, is now vying for the position as alpha male against an older male, Raw Bones. "He glanced back to see if Kapu was looking at him. If not he would sneak-attack him. Kapu was looking. He displayed one canine tooth. It shone lethal white against the black of his lips . . . Raw Bones lay down . . . Rumbling sounds of peevishness rolled in his chest. He did not like being dominated, especially by a younger male."

The characteristics of the pack are well outlined but without anthropomorphizing and the cyclic rhythm of the year with battles, starvation, drought and life and death make this a tender yet exciting novel for George fans of all ages.

STEP BY WICKED STEP by Anne Fine. Little, Brown, $15.95, 138 pages. (Recently reprinted in paperback by Dell/Yearling.)

Five children in a spooky mansion share their personal stories with great humor and insight. The author has captured the candor of children going through the effects of divorce who feel that they are the only ones who have ever had that experience. As they divulge their feelings, they come to grips with the reality of the problem. The strength of this story, it seems, comes with the characters showing how children often have the energy and toughness to assist in divided families. I recommend this one for 9- to 12-year olds.

SUN & SPOON by Kevin Henkes, Greenwillow, $15, 144 pages. (Read in galley format.)

Spoon's family, the Gilmore's, feel great loss at the death of grandmother. Spoon's parents try to protect grandfather , younger sister, Joanie, collects sticks and twigs as if they are bones. Spoon wants nothing more than to possess something to remind him of the good times. When he takes her favorite deck of playing cards with suns on the back, he doesn't realize the heartache it will cause.

This is a very tender story with themes running parallel to each other, death causing separation and growth and change that affects a whole family during loss and the healing process.

GAPS IN STONE WALLS by John Neufeld, Atheneum, 181 pages.

The time is 1880. The place, Martha's Vineyard. A man has been killed and only four people are without excuses for their whereabouts at the time of the murder: the servant of the dead man, a serving lady, a farmer and a 12-year-old girl. All four must prove their innocence.

The young Merry Skiffe is a strong and responsible young woman who is hearing impaired. She flees because of her fear of the high-styled deputy from Edgartown. This only causes suspicion to be swayed in her direction. This is a story of true friendships, prejudice, honor and the ability to stand tall through hardships.

The theme of deafness in the story is an integral one, based on the research of Alexander Graham Bell, who found that one of every four or five citizens in the Chilmark area were deaf during this period. These facts and the striking fortitude of a young girl make "Gaps in Stone Walls" a dynamic novel to be enjoyed by 8- to 14-year-olds.

FINDING WALTER by Ann Turner. Harcourt, $16, 161 pages.

"Sad things happen to dolls when they are not played with and are left to languish in a dark attic for 20 years." When Aliceand Emily move into Grandma's home and find the old dollhouse, abandoned and desperate need of repair, they feel an affinity to the timeless dolls. Grandma recalls that there was a baby name Walter in the doll family who is now missing. Who could have lost him and how was he removed from the dollhouse?

There is a mystery within a mystery in "Finding Walter" as Grandma knows more than she admits and Alice realizes that the dolls can talk and move by themselves.

With the same delicacy of "Elfsong," Turner spins a toy-fantasy that will delight readers ages 8 and above.

CHASING REDBIRD by Sharon Creech, HarperCollins, $14.95, 261 pages.

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Award-winning author Sharon Creech has written a book that can be recommended as completely wholesome and thoroughly pleasing . All the elements are there to make it so; a strong plot that is relevant to young readers, a stable setting with timeless values and written in a style that is captivating. This is about a devoted large family - actually an extended family - that is without guile. They care for each other and are strong citizens that use decent language. The setting is small town America with just enough slang and colloquialisms to color the scenes nicely; such as "that's the up-and-down truth," "as frisky as a flea on an old barn dog" and "he had a grin so wide you'd have thought he had a couple extra sets of teeth."

There's no crime (unless you call Jake borrowing a dog and a car to impress a girl), dysfunctional people or drugs. Hard work is the ethic with each member of the family having their own "squirt garden." The plot is sprinkled with gems of though and wisdom such as "one grasshopper or one fossil . . . would be mesmerizing. You could look at any one of these for days and weeks and months, and you'd see something different each time. Maybe it was the same with people: If you studied them, you'd see new and different things. But would you like what you saw? Did it depend on who was doing the looking?"

Doesn't sound like many contemporary realistic fiction novels? True.

Creech won the Newbery Medal for "Walk Two Moons," but in my estimation, "Chasing Redbird" far surpasses the winner in quality literature, And that's the "up-and-down truth"!

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