Reviews: (by author)

Bauer, Marion Dane. Runt. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. $14.00. ISBN 0-618-21261-2. 136 pp. 

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This novel is set in the woods of Minnesota.   A wolf litter is born and five pups are introduced into the world: Leader, Runner, Sniffer, Thinker, and Runt.   The mother and father wolf, Silver and King, name each of the pups for a trait that they will bring to the pack.   Runt is given his name because he is born without any breath and is much smaller than the rest of the litter.   Due to his size and disadvantage, Runt is determined to keep up with the rest of the pack and to impress his father and leader of the pack, King.   Runt continually makes mistakes and gets into trouble, which causes much shame and disappointment for his father.   Eventually, Runt runs away from the pack and ends up in the forbidden territory of a human home where he is taken in.   In the human home, Runt realizes that he must return to the woods and face the mistakes he has made.   The novel triumphantly ends when Runt saves his pack by finding food and he is given the prestigious name of Singer.  

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