Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver

Age 10-12

The first volume of The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness trilogy is a stone-age adventure set 6,000 years ago, when hunter-gatherers lived in small clans whose survival depended on their phenomenal knowledge of plants and animals. What gives this book its conviction is Paver's familiarity with prehistoric archeology and her own experience of living wild in Finnish forests. She also writes in a clear, engaging style that sensibly avoids faux-archaism, and the story is full of action - fights, hunts and exits pursued by a bear. After his father's death, Tokrak, the young hero is responsible for saving the forest from evil demons and has to undertake, in time-honoured fairytale fashion, a quest with three tasks before the future of the clan is safe. He is helped by a rebellious girl who is a skilled archer, and by a loyal wolf whose language he speaks, thanks to having been cared for by a she-wolf as an infant. The relationships and setting are persuasively described and the fantastical spirits and demons are woven into a plausible belief system based on natural forces. And, unlike many recent fantasies, at 215 pages it isn't dauntingly long.