Beloved nature writer Helen Hoover tells a delightful children’s fable that will stir a sense of wonder and discovery in anyone who has ever felt the magic of the forest and imagined it a lively village of talking animals. 

Many years ago Great Wolf, a mighty hunter feared by all the animals in the forest, looked down on a deer, squirrel, and chickadee waiting for the Good Woodsman to provide a feast of cedar, corn, and seeds. The animals discover the Good Woodsman injured inside his house and with no fire in his stove. Worrying that he will freeze, the animals are disheartened that they have no way to help him. Great Wolf knew only he could rescue the Good Woodsman. When Great Wolf’s plan succeeds, the animals and the Good Woodsman invite the once-ostracized wolf to share Christmas dinner, and they realize that everyone has good things to offer if given the opportunity. 

Great Wolf and the Good Woodsman, charmingly illustrated with hand-colored woodcuts by renowned artist Betsy Bowen, is a classic tale to be passed down and enjoyed by many generations. 

Helen Hoover (1910–1984) moved to the wilderness of northern Minnesota in the 1950s. She and her husband Adrian chronicled their observations and experiences of life near their home on Gunflint Lake in a number of well-loved books, including Gift of the Deer, The Years of the Forest, and A Place in the Woods, all published by the University of Minnesota Press. 

Betsy Bowen operates a fine art print shop and studio at the edge of the wilderness near Lake Superior’s north shore. She is author and illustrator of Antler, Bear, Canoe: A Northwoods Alphabet Year, Tracks in the Wild, Gathering: A Northwoods Counting Book, and illustrator of A Wild Neighborhood (Minnesota, 1997) and Borealis (Minnesota, 2002).

Illustrated by: Betsy Bowen