Doggone Good: Survivors: Tales from the Packs Offers Insight & Intrigue

They’re bound by a code of honor and loyalty. They adhere to a strict hierarchy of power. They’re agile hunters and fierce fighters. And when the moon is high, their synchronous howls make them the marquise crooners of the wild. These are the dogs of the Packs, the diverse cast of canine characters in Erin Hunter’s bestselling Survivors series.
With the release of Survivors: Tales from the Packs, a compilation of three novellas, fans of the series can dig into the juicy backstories of some of the Packs’ most dynamic personalities. Despite multi-layered references to the first six books, Tales from the Packs is an entertaining read for newcomers to the series as well. The three novellas—Alpha’s Tale, Sweet’s Journey, and Moon’s Choice—are compelling stand-alone stories, and their revelations will provide many a-ha! moments down the line, when reading books one through six (which parents and kids will absolutely want to do after meeting this motley crew).

At the start of the series, a cataclysmic earthquake known as the Big Growl turns the world upside down, and the not-so-simple task of survival becomes paramount for the canine kingdom. Our guide through this dark reality is Lucky, a city-dwelling mutt from the Trap House (shelter) who prides himself on his status as a Lone Dog. After the quake leaves the city in ruins and kills most of the longpaws (humans), Lucky joins forces with a group of Leashed Dogs (pets to the longpaws), and together they head for the hills. Confronted with the reality that he cannot make it on his own in this new world, Lucky reluctantly begins the process of assimilating to life as a Pack dog, navigating a dangerous environment filled with tests of character and battles for rank and territory. While he has some touching moments of connection with his fellow furries, Lucky never fully abandons his dream of returning to life as a Lone Dog. Through his travails we encounter a bevy of plot twists and new characters, several of which become the focus of the novellas in Tales from the Packs. Each novella takes a different course, but they all eventually circle back to the original six novels, adding richness, depth, and surprises along the way.
Alpha’s Tale. The first novella in the trio takes us back in time to the early days of Alpha, the fearsome and imposing leader of the Wild Dogs, who Lucky and the Leashed Dogs meet in the forest. It’s hard to imagine yellow-eyed Alpha as anything but a self-possessed powerhouse, but the chronicles of his puphood reveal an outcast who endures persecution at every turn because he is a wolf-dog half-breed. Like all underdogs who rise to greatness, Alpha must look within for courage and define his own worth in order to create a new life for himself.
Sweet’s Journey. Here the spotlight shines on Sweet, the lightening-quick swift-dog who survives the Trap House alongside Lucky. Though Sweet is disappointed by Lucky’s refusal to join her quest to find a Pack in the wild, she is committed to her cause and ventures into the forest on her own. Like Alpha, she endures multiple rounds of hardship and alienation before finding her true place in the world. When she ascends the ranks of the Wild Dogs to become Alpha’s second in command, it seems that her toughest challenges—and her past—are behind her.
Moon’s Choice. Moon, a young female Farm Dog, is destined for greatness. Her father-dog and mother-dog are the Alpha and Beta of their Pack, and Moon is poised to one day take the reins, with the formidable Hunter as her Beta. But when a mysterious illness threatens the Pack, Moon must choose whether to comply with her parent-dogs’ wishes for her, or to forge her own path in a rapidly changing world. With the help of Fiery, a loyal but sympathetic member of the Wild Dogs, Moon finds the courage to follow her intuition and make a decision that will have long-lasting consequences for her Pack.
Have you met the tail-wagging wonders of the Survivors series?