Guardians of the Taiga

March 1, 2018

Gr 3-5-Stacy Hinojosa, better known to millions as StacyPlays, the creator of the "Dogcraft" series on YouTube, pens a debut middle grade series based on her love of animals and belief in the importance of environmental conservation. Young Stacy doesn't know how old she is. All she knows is that for as long as she can clearly remember, she has been raised by a pack of six wolves who communicate with her both telepathically and through body language. Vague recollections of humans sometimes enter her mind-she can speak English, after all, but she has no idea what her life before the wolves was like. Her main occupation is to rescue all animals in trouble in the taiga forest in which she lives. She quickly adds a little dog to her pack and the dog, named Page, helps with the rescues. Hinojosa creates compelling animal characters and the plot moves along rapidly. The mystery of Stacy's past and just what the wolves know about it leave plenty of room for a sequel, as does the threat of development of the taiga area. VERDICT Reluctant readers will quickly find themselves absorbed in the story with its intriguing characters and varied plot threads. This series will appeal to fans of animal fiction and budding environmentalists.-B. Allison Gray, Goleta Public Library, CA

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2018
A girl and her wolf pack perform animal rescues in this series opener from the YouTuber best known as StacyPlays.Twelve-year-old Stacy has been living in the taiga (defined in an appended glossary) with a pack of arctic wolves for the past four years, with only the barest hints of memories at her life before that. These wolves can understand her, communicate with her with body language, and even take care of her education (an intellectual wolf named Addison likes to swipe reading materials for Stacy). Together, Stacy and her wolves engage in daring rescues of other animals in dramatic settings. On one of these rescues, they save a little dog, Page, from a pack of wild wolves. (Page is named after the author's real dog; she can communicate with bats.) This growing, hungry pack causes trouble for Stacy's wolves, as their hunting farm animals prompts nearby humans to push for a bounty on wolves to thin the population. Developers who wish to turn the entire area into a luxury resort pose an additional threat. The animals' uneven levels of anthropomorphization and intelligence are never explained; questions of Stacy's backstory too are left unanswered. Undemanding and episodic, the book concludes with a blurb about the author's trip to the taiga, a profile of the real-life Page, and, in a welcome departure from self-promotion, a profile of a wolf researcher.Doesn't set itself apart from the rest of the animal-rescue pack. (Animal fantasy. 8-12)

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

April 30, 2018
In this middle grade adventure, first in a series from the creator of the YouTube personality StacyPlays and heavily inspired by the Dogcraft story line of her Minecraft videos, an amnesiac girl raised by wolves spends her time in the wilderness rescuing animals and honing her survival skills. Twelve-year-old Stacy doesn’t remember how she wound up in the northern snow forest, or taiga (where, precisely, is never specified) with a pack of highly intelligent wolves for company, and she has no desire to leave them to seek out the buried mysteries of her past. Instead, she deals with issues such as careless campers, intrusive surveyors, a rival wolf pack, and a devastating forest fire, all in the name of protecting her home. Hinojosa includes subtle vocabulary lessons in her positive ecological messages that advocate for environmental stewardship. Those familiar with the author and her Minecraft escapades will have no trouble visualizing the world as she lovingly describes highly competent, self-sufficient Stacy’s surroundings and woodcrafting efforts. The back matter includes an interview with a wolf researcher, offering further appeal to young animal-loving readers. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8–12.

May 1, 2018
Grades 3-6 Stacy has no interaction with humans and only fleeting memories of her biological family. Rather, she considers a pack of six Arctic wolves her family, with whom she communicates through a sophisticated system they've developed. Though they all have specific roles to ensure their daily survival, they spend their days rescuing animals in danger in the taiga. Filled with thunderous action and chilling danger, this first entry in the Wild Rescuers series reads like an episode from Hinojosa's (aka StacyPlays) YouTube series, Dogcraft. In this animal fantasy, readers will willingly suspend their disbelief and simply lose themselves in the adventure. As the pack moves from one breathtaking, near-death activity to another, readers will find themselves mesmerized by the creativity of the wolves. When the pack faces their greatest challenge, a raging fire, will they be able to save the animals in danger as well as themselves? With a fast pace likely to appeal to gamers, this series starter will leave readers anxiously awaiting the next installment.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)