I was pretty excited to do the wraparound dust jacket for a reprint of Jack London’s The Call of the Wild. The reprinting publisher was Barnes and Noble for their juvenile literature series which came out sometime in the early aughts.

My enthusiasm for this title came from having read this story when I was in 4th of 5th grade. At the time, it seemed so adventurous, and so gritty. London’s storytelling was so sharp— I could smell the fresh snow and hear the dogs yelping. It was also somewhat early (and heartbreaking) for me to learn that people could abuse animals so badly, but I was very heartened by the story which ended with love and a furever home for Buck.

If you’ve not read this classic bit of literature, I highly recommend it.