Brett's artwork (as usual) is tremondous! The action is so real you can't help but exclaim at the turn of every page (even if you're an adult)! In addition Brett's technique of putting clues as to what will happen next in the borders of each picture also helps build the suspense. My 5-year-old quickly spys a tusk on one page's border and shouts "Oh no! Look out Kip a Big Mammoth is coming! Hey wolf! Warn Kip that a Big Mammoth is coming!" My boy couldn't be more into the story if he is was Kip himself. The best part of the border art is that it is very thematic. For example on the saber-toothed tiger page there are carved figurines and cave art of saber-tooths based on actual archeological finds! I wish I could give 5 stars but saber-tooth cats didn't really climb trees...

I'm usually very critical of children's books & movies. In my opinion too many are either boring, plotless, or hopelessly inaccurate. Don't get me wrong, I love fantasy and other imaginitive works. But, for example elephants don't drink through their trunks like a straw! So why do we tell/show kids that they do?

Thankfully Brett would not make such an insulting mistake (saber-tooth in a tree is excuseable). This story is told so well, I assume that Brett actually did some serious research about Dog Domestication (she even uses the word Pleistocene!). The wolf befriends Kip the Cave Boy not just because it would make a cute story, but because Kip and the wolf have many things in common and while acting in each others self-interest they unite against common problems. AT LAST! Accurate Anthropology & Biology in a kid's book that KIDS ACTUALLY ENJOY!

P.S. looking for another excellent Kid's book on life in the Pleistocene? Try "Grunt the Primative Cave Boy" by Timothy Bush