Year Six English: The Eye of the Wolf by Daniel Pennac

Questions we posed before reading the book based only on the front cover:

• Why has the wolf got a boy's face on his face?
• Is it during the Ice Age?
  How did it win the award?
• What language is it translated from?
• What country does it come from?
• Has it got pictures in it?
  

Questions we posed after reading the first section:

• Why does the not stop moving?
• How did the She- Wolf die?
  Who is the boy?
• Why is he (the boy) watching him?
• Were the wolf and the she wolf friends?
• Why is the boy staring at the wolf?
  Is he feeling sad for the wolf?
  

Seeing the story from the viewpoint of a character in the book.

What we think the Wolf might have said after the first section:



What we think the boy might have thought at the same point in the book:



What we think Wolf's mother, Black Flame, might have said:




Summarising our thoughts ¾ of the way through the book

Rebecca
I think that the story is very exciting because it builds up tension and really gets you thinking. My favourite character is Blue Wolf because his past is interesting. My favourite section is 'The Human Eye'. I like it because in it he travels and it also explains things in detail.

Matthew
At the moment the story is just giving you ideas of what might happen. I think the boy is staring at the wolf because the wolf reminds him of the cheetah and the dromedary. Maybe there is a similarity between the boy's and the wolf's past. What I want to know is why is Africa friends with everyone and also why he is called Africa?

Jake
'The Eye of the Wolf' is really descriptive- that's why I like it and the author seems to always build up tension such as in the first paragraph because when you see the boy just standing there with nothing to do, just standing there on a closed day it feels like he's a ghost or something. It makes you feel all weird and freaky. So, I like the way the author builds tension and the way he is descriptive.

Katie
The book is really descriptive because you get loads of questions popping in your head and you really want to read on. I think Daniel Pennac has really thought about how he can describe the characters. After section two we know a lot about the wolf and I wondered what had happened to the boy, so I really wanted to read on and find out more.

Olivia
The book is a bit of a puzzle and when you finish it you complete the puzzle! I have a feeling that the boy and the wolf have a connection between their lives because the wolf was captured and I think the boy gets captured. The cheetah will get caught and so the boy goes after him and that's how I think the boy gets captured.

Peter
My favourite character is the wolf because he is a bit heroic and he takes risks for his family. I think the story is good because it gives you enough information but not too much. I think that the cheetah might get captured and the boy could be killed trying to stop the hunters.

Ollie
I think the book is very exciting because Daniel Pennac makes it hard to understand so it makes it more interesting. I particularly like the chapter 'The Human Eye' because it has little bits of excitement and explains a lot more about the story.

CJ
The story is like a puzzle. It is hard to understand at times but it does go together when you piece it out carefully. It is a mystery what will happen next. You will not want to stop reading once you start.

Ashleigh
So far 'the Eye of the Wolf' has been exciting but confusing. I'm looking for clues to connect the four sections such as what is going to happen next. The author makes you read on and really makes you think.

Katy
I think the boy is very interesting because he has a connection with animals. So far his lifestyle affects his life because he can talk to animals. It is strange that Africa makes things possible that the King of Goats can't do or never knew to do. He has travelled many places but he does not know that.

William
My favourite character is Africa because he is kind and smart. I also like him because he does what he is told and doesn't argue at all, even in times when I thought he would like when Toa the trader sells him and the dromedary. Africa becomes a shepherd and I don't know where the dromedary has gone. I would like to find out a lot more about Africa's family and where he used to live. I would also like to find out where the dromedary went and if he's alive.

Luke
The author has described the wolf really well and you can sometimes tell what is coming next. I think that the boy might be a ghost- that is why he would get in the zoo when it was closed. I think the cheetah might get caught and the boy will go and get the cheetah and the camel and the wolf.

Joe
I like the bit where the boy starts to arrive at the desert because he is about to challenge the cheetah. I think the boy is going to die. Then the wolf will challenge the cheetah.

Chloe
The book is about a boy and a wolf. There are different parts to look into the characters' lives. I think it is very interesting and the author has been clever in how he has constructed the story together. The characters are very different to each other. I think this is better because it would be boring if you always heard the same words.

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Mapping the story
We looked at the chronological order of the story and then compared it with the order in which the author released information. Our diagram shows the order in which the story was told.

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The story starts and ends at the zoo so a key question is: How did the boy end up at the zoo?

Here are some thoughts (offered before we read the last section of the book):

I think the boy will make friends with some animals and the animals will then get captured and the boy will follow them and will end up in the zoo. Charlotte

I think he follows the truck where the logs are going and then gets flown over to England and somehow finds the zoo. Chloe

I think the boy will die by trying to find out where the trees are going. Then he comes back as a ghost or spirit and looks for the animals, like the gorilla and the other animals he found in Green Africa. William

The boy gets killed by the falling trees so when he is a ghost he follows the logs to the zoo. I think he's a ghost because he is still there at closing time. Matthew

I think he was forced to be a hunter so that he could have some food from the man who owns Saucepans. Luke

He wanted to see the Other World and the zoo is in the other world so he stays there as a spirit. On the way he dies and when it is closing time he does not go home because he is a spirit. Ashley

I think that the boy dies and the gorilla is taken to the zoo. Then the boy goes back to the zoo as a spirit to find the gorilla. Instead of the gorilla he finds the Wolf that is more interesting to the boy. Rebecca

I think the boy is being protected by the gorilla. Then they are taken to the zoo by accident. The boy escaped and met the wolf. Katy

I think the boy tries to follow the wolf and gets killed and then comes back as a ghost to the zoo because it said at the start that the boy didn't go on the closing day. Ollie

He might have been following the lorries with the logs on to find out where they were going and he died because he got lost and went to the zoo because he loves animals. That would explain why he was there on the closed day. CJ

I think that the boy was taken with the gorillas but he dies because he ahs no food or water so he comes back as a spirit to see the zoo gorillas and other animals. Peter

I think that he wants to see where the trees are going so he follows them to France and gets to the zoo. Ashleigh

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Eye of the Wolf by Daniel Pennac

Book Reviews

'Eye of the Wolf' was written by Daniel Pennac and translated from French to English by Sarah Adams.

In the 'Eye of the Wolf' there is a boy called Africa and a wolf called Blue Wolf. We travel through the wolf's past then through the boy's story. They are there to tell a story and get a message out.
The deeper meaning of this story is trust and friendship. Also, how we are cruel to animals and how poor Africa is. It also explains all the different parts in Africa like Green Africa, Grey Africa and Yellow Africa. This helps us to understand how different Africa is to England and France.

I reckon this book is good for anyone aged 10+. I definitely think you should go out and buy this book because it is a thinking story. It really gets you coming up with lots of questions. It makes your imagination burst with things you never thought of before.

Rebecca

Eye of the Wolf was written by Daniel Pennac and translated by Sarah Adams from French to English.

This story is about animals from Africa and a wolf from Alaska. It is not in chronological order so only read this book if you like solving problems or just love reading. It starts and ends in a zoo.

This book has a very deep meaning of friendship and how poor Africa is and how we are treating our world.

I think this book is sad, happy and confusing in all parts of the story because all the animals which we hear about in the start of the book we find them in cages at the end. I would recommend this story for 10 and over and strong readers. I would love to read this again.

Ashleigh

Eye of the Wolf is about a boy that meets a wolf in the zoo. Both their pasts have been a misery but friends have helped them through. From the time the wolf closed his eye (when the hunters caught him) to the time he opened it, the boy has slowly healed the wolf inside.

A strong bond of friendship and trust has developed between these two, each of them experiencing the destruction of their home, forcing them to go to another culture.

I would recommend this to a person that wants to help look after the world because this would increase their meaning of what's happening.

Matthew

This book was written by Daniel Pennac but was translated by Sarah Adams from French. The book is called 'Eye of the Wolf'.

The story is set in a zoo. There are two main characters, a boy named Africa and a wolf named Blue Wolf. The story starts with Africa and Blue Wolf staring into each other's eyes. This book is not in chronological order. There are four sections: How they met; The eye of the wolf; the human eye; the other world.

The deeper meaning is animals and how they are gradually going extinct. It tells you how poor Africa is and how we can help Africa. If you read this book you will realise that there are three types of Africa- Yellow Africa, Green Africa and Grey Africa.

I would recommend this book to Year Six plus. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone.

Lee

The book eye of the Wolf is written by Daniel Pennac and has been translated by Sarah Adams from French to English.

The book is separated into four different parts. They all have one viewpoint per part. The story is about a wolf telling his story and a boy telling his. Daniel Pennac wrote this book in flash backs and not in chronological order. The book starts with the boy staring at the wolf event though the wolf has only one eye.

This book is about trust, friendship, animals, poorness and Africa's trees disappearing.

I think that this book is interesting and fascinating and is for ages over eight. It can be confusing but I got used to it, so you might.

Chloe

Eye of the Wolf by Daniel Pennac was translated from French by Sarah Adams.

In this story a wolf and a boy meet and tell their life stories through each other's eyes. This story is told in flash backs and has a well thought out and mind boggling story plot. The two main characters have had an exciting life and have ended up in the same place.

This is a story of trust, friendship, loyalty and, above all, hope. As you read it a strong message is hidden in its words. The message is telling you about how we are treating animals and forests. Once you start reading the story is so magical that you can't put it down until the end.

I loved it and would recommend it to anyone who likes an animal story with a hint of fiction to add to the mix.

CJ

A Selection from Other Book Reviews

I think this book is great and I recommend this to anyone who likes sad stories. The deeper meaning is all about the cruelness to animals. If we keep hunting we won't have any animals left. It is also about friendship and love. Jake

The book is not in chronological order. It uses flash backs to tell the reader where they came from. The wolf lives somewhere where the temperature goes down to -51 degrees. The boy comes from somewhere that has jungles and lots of sand. Harrison

This book is all about friendships as the wolf and the boy become friends. The deeper meaning has two parts which are how we treat the world and friendship. Katie

Eye of the Wolf is an excellent book for tens and over. I thought the book was fantastic. I would love to read it again. Charlotte

It is an imaginative story of friendship, trust and possible hope. It gives the reader a strong message about how we are treating animals and humans in poorer countries. Alice

I think the book is a good book because it makes you think and has a good deeper meaning. I would recommend this book to a boy or girl who has a good imagination and someone who can sit down for a long time. William

Daniel Pennac has written the French book and Sarah Adams translated it into English. Daniel Pennac has put a lot of animals in it. Joe

The story begins in a zoo and is tarts with a boy and a wolf staring at each other. The boy and the wolf are the main characters. The story is based mostly in Africa. Ashley

This book is about friendship and how we are treating others and other countries plus animals. It tells you about trust and how others have trust with you. If you are the type of person who likes adventures I'd recommend you to read it. Robert

I think this story has two deeper meanings. The first is a story in itself, a story of friendship and trust. When you read the book you will see what I mean, it is easy to spot. The second is sort of telling you to look after the planet and it shows you how people in Africa are treated. Emily

I think the book is a good book because it tells you things that you have to figure out. I would recommend it for Year Six and up. Hayley
The book's deeper meaning is how we treat our world and other countries in it, how we treat animals and how we treat other people in the world. It is also about trust. Ollie

Being honest, I wasn't too keen on the story because if a story has flash backs I prefer short dramatic flash backs. Felicity

The book is good. It keeps you thinking because it has so many different characters. I recommend this to children aged Year Six and on. Amy

They met in the zoo staring at each other. The boy and the wolf become friends. Marie

I recommend this book strongly for over 10s because it is complicated but very good because of the message of friendship and trust. Olivia

To me this book means a lot. I recommend it to children and adults. It gets my mind full of whirling questions. I found it very amusing and exciting. Daniel Pennac's other stories sound interesting. Eye of the Wolf makes you think harder and wants to expand your imagination. Katy