Mode

kid

parent

Wayward Creatures

by: Dayna Lorentz  

Ages

10+

Rill has had enough of her annoying coyote sibs. 

Gabe is out of patience with his annoying human pack.   

Will it take a wildfire for them to discover who their real friends are? 

Ages 10+
Pages 304
Publisher HarperCollins
Coming Apr 2024

Average Rating

38 Reviews
Leave Review

What the Book Is About

Seventh grader Gabe feels like his friends and family don’t have time for him anymore, so, desperate to impress his friends, he sets off fireworks in the woods, causing a fire that destroys acres of land. While in a restorative justice program in which he must clean up the forest and repair the damage he caused, Gabe meets Rill, a young lone coyote who had run away from her family and was injured in the fire. Alternating between Gabe’s and Rill’s points of view, their developing friendship helps boy and coyote learn to accept responsibility and make amends for the harm their actions caused. 

Jewish Content & Values

  • There are references to Hebrew School, Rosh Hashanah, and Passover
  • The book has strong Jewish values including teshuvah (repentance), kehillah (community), tza’ar ba’alei chayim (protecting animals), and tikkun olam (repairing the world). 

Content Advisory

The coyote, Rill, remembers her siblings being caught in traps, but there are no graphic descriptions. 
What the Book Is About

What the Book Is About

Seventh grader Gabe feels like his friends and family don’t have time for him anymore, so, desperate to impress his friends, he sets off fireworks in the woods, causing a fire that destroys acres of land. While in a restorative justice program in which he must clean up the forest and repair the damage he caused, Gabe meets Rill, a young lone coyote who had run away from her family and was injured in the fire. Alternating between Gabe’s and Rill’s points of view, their developing friendship helps boy and coyote learn to accept responsibility and make amends for the harm their actions caused. 

Jewish Content & Values

  • There are references to Hebrew School, Rosh Hashanah, and Passover
  • The book has strong Jewish values including teshuvah (repentance), kehillah (community), tza’ar ba’alei chayim (protecting animals), and tikkun olam (repairing the world). 

Content Advisory

The coyote, Rill, remembers her siblings being caught in traps, but there are no graphic descriptions.