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About the Series
Into the Wild (HarperCollins) is the first book in the Wolf Girl series, a thrilling middle-grade trilogy about a young girl, separated from her family, who learns how to survive with only her new canine found family by her side—from Australian bestselling author, actor, and stand-up comedian Anh Do. When disaster separates Gwen from her family, she must fend for herself, all alone in the wilderness. Luckily, she’s not alone for long, after a wolf puppy, a Labrador, a Chihuahua, and a greyhound save her life, Gwen discovers talents she didn’t know she possessed. It will take Gwen and her new friends all of their skills and strength just to survive. Will she follow her instincts and become the one and only wolf girl? With black-and-white illustrations on every page, Into the Wild is perfect for action fans and emergent readers. It’s the first of the series from Anh Do. Reviews show that young readers enjoy this book so much they quickly follow to the next novel, The Great Escape.
Chat with the Author
Mary: Hello, and thanks so much for joining Dragonfly’s world eco-fiction spotlight. Before we get into the Wolf Girl series, you’ve had an interesting past. Can you summarize some of it and how you went from fleeing with your family in 1980 to comedy and writing?
Do: In the Vietnam War, my father and uncles fought for the South of Vietnam, so we fought alongside American soldiers. After the war my family were persecuted, and we fled the country with 40 people crammed in like sardines on an old 30 foot fishing boat.
I was only three years old, and my brother was only one. We were at sea for five days and were attacked by pirates twice. The pirates took everything we had, including the engine, which left us just floating out in the open sea. We were getting very desperate, and one child had passed away when a few days later a German Merchant ship spotted us and rescued us.
My parents considered themselves very lucky that our family survived and so gratitude was a big part of my childhood.
Mary: That’s a harrowing story, and I’m glad you survived. You also acted in some of your brother’s films. How exciting!
Do: Yes, I enjoy acting and performing, but I actually trained as a lawyer! I very nearly became a lawyer but towards the end of my law degree, I decided to try out stand-up comedy. It turned out I was good at it. Law vs. comedy, and I chose comedy!
I’ve been a comedian for over twenty-five years now and have done some acting, which I love. I basically love storytelling. So, from writing comedy I started writing books including my autobiography and now onto over a hundred children’s story books.
Mary: Congratulations. Wolf Girl Book 1, Into the Wild, seems exactly like the type of book I would have read as a young girl, and even now. What inspired you to write this book?
Do: When I was a kid my family owned a farm and we had seven dogs who helped looked after the animals and keep foxes at bay. I spent entire days wandering around the nearby forest with my pack of dogs who became like my little band of buddies.
Fast forward thirty years, and I was watching my three-year-old daughter sitting amongst her soft toys and talking to her fluffy dog toys, when suddenly the idea of Wolf Girl popped into my head.
A little girl gets lost in the forest and befriends a wolf puppy and a bunch of adorable dogs. Over the years they become family and the dogs teach her how to become more in tune with her senses and how to detect danger, the way that dogs do. Together this band of misfits goes in search of Gwen’s family.
Mary: What kinds of important ideas do you want to impart in this book?
Do: I wanted to explore the idea that children are much more magnificent and capable than society allows them to be.
Mary: How does nature fit into the stories, and how do you weave in environmental storytelling? Did you have Australia in mind as you were writing?
Do: Nature is a big part of the stories. Dogs and wolves and eagles (Gwen befriends all three species) are much more attuned to nature than human beings. So the animals teach Gwen how to become similarly attuned. This kind of becomes her superpower.
The series is not set in Australia. The forest they get lost in is a made-up place.
Mary: The book is the first in the series. How is the series going, and can you let us know more about it without spoiling it?
Do: In Australia we’ve sold over a million Wolf Girl books! The series is a sweeping tale told over many years and involves family and love and loss and courage and betrayal and everything in between.
Mary: What kinds of feedback have you gotten from the Wolf Girl series, and what is the intended audience?
Do: Some people have said that Wolf Girl is a bit like Tarzan but with dogs instead of apes, and a young girl instead of a muscle-bound man.
Children between the ages of seven and twelve love Wolf Girl; both boys and girls can see themselves in the main character Gwen. They relate to Gwen and they also fall in love with the cute, funny, silly dogs and the magnificent golden wolf.
Mary: What’s next?
Do: I am now working on turning the books into TV shows and films. It’s very exciting times!
Mary: It does sound exciting. Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with Dragonfly.
About the Author
Anh Do is a comedian, artist, and one of the highest-selling Australian authors of all time. He is a prolific author with an incredible thirty-seven books to his name—and counting! Along with the Weir Do books, some of the most popular Anh Do books include The Happiest Refugee, for which Do won the Australian Independent Booksellers Book of the Year in 2011, and the Wolf Girl kids’ adventure series.
