Clarke, Judith. Wolf on the fold.

CLARKE, Judith. Wolf on the fold. Front Street. 169p. c2000. 1-886910-79-0. $16.95. JS

Clarke is an acclaimed author of children's books in Australia and this book consists of loosely woven stories in a style not common in YA publications in the United States. In this, each story takes place in a different era, but links members of one family across the years. The first story takes place in 1935, during the Depression in Australia, when Kenny's family is shaken to its core by the death of their father. Kenny, at 14, has to go to work to support the family to help them stay together. There are passages in italics in this story telling of Kenny in his adult life, with references to his children and grandchildren; these are the principal characters in the subsequent stories, which take place in the 1950s, in 1975, in 1991, in 2002. Each story is about a test of strength, in some way, revealing this strong glue that unites this family, perhaps passed down through the generations.

American readers will be challenged by the Australian references as well as by the unusual format. Once they persist through several of the stories, however, they will be intrigued by Clarke's style and anxious to get the puzzle pieces to fit together by the end of the book. In some ways, Clarke's style is old-fashioned, reminiscent of, say, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, about another poor family struggling to survive and to be good people.