Discover Teresa Heapy's new animal adventure, Will Wolfheart!
About Author
Teresa Heapy introduces her new adventure, Will Wolfheart. Look out for a boy and his dog, wolf packs and an exciting quest!
Teresa Heapy is an award-winning children's writer. Her picture books include The Wonder Tree, Loved to Bits, The Marvellous Moon Map, a Million Stars and the Very Little series, including Very Little Sleeping Beauty and Very Little Rapunzel. She has also written many books for educational series and worked as a commissioning editor in educational publishing.
She has three children and lives in Oxford. Will Wolfheart is her first novel.
Interview
August 2025
Teresa Heapy talks to ReadingZone about her wolf-inspired animal adventure, Will Wolfheart! (DFB)
Imagine finding yourself in a world where you can speak with animals - and befriend ferocious wolves! Theresa Heapy talks to ReadingZone about her new wolf-packed adventure, Will Wolfheart, including what she learned about wolves while researching it - and conversations she would love to have with a dog!
More about Will Wolfheart: When Will Wolfheart is snatched away from his everyday life, he finds himself in Wolf World - a twilight world of forests and mountains and with three moons. Thankfully, his much-loved dog, Whisker, is also now in Wolf World - and is also a wolf! Even stranger, Will can speak with Whisker and all the wolves. So what has brought them back, and how can Will and Whisker help to save Wolf World? Read a chapter from Will Wolfheart.
Q&A with Teresa Heapy, introducing her animal adventure, Will Wolfheart!
"Wolves often get a bad rap in stories (think of the Big Bad Wolf!) and I was really interested to explore the
contrast to that: their tenderness to their cubs; their loyalty to their pack."
1. Thank you for joining us on ReadingZone. Can you tell us a little about who inspired you to become an author, what keeps you busy when you're not writing, and your loves and loathings?
Thank you so much for inviting me to join you on ReadingZone! My dad inspired me to be a children's writer. He was an editor in children's publishing, and used to come home waving books in the air! When my brother and I were little, he would invite me and my brother to comment on books and sometimes reword them - he trusted our opinions.
I grew up knowing that books were things that people wrote and made. I recently found a big box of stories that I wrote when I was very young, so in many ways I think I have written all my life. My current go-to authors are Hilary McKay, S F Said and Phil Earle. I also love Cressida Cowell's Hiccup books, and I'm a massive fan of Diana Wynne Jones.
When I'm not writing or reading, I work for the Royal Literary Fund, leading groups of adults and children. I share stories and poems with them and offer them opportunities to do their own writing. I love hot chocolate (even in summer), running, gardening and going to the theatre. I loathe fresh coriander!
2. What happens in your new book, Will Wolfheart?
Will Wolfheart tells the story of Will and his dog Whisker, who love each other but can't live together in the real world. On Whisker's first birthday, Will gets pulled into another world and finds out that Whisker has become a wolf! The sky is purple and there's a violent storm overhead, tearing the landscape to pieces. It turns out they've landed in Wolf World, full of wolves - some friendly and some very much not!
They also meet a girl, Clara, who's angry and sad about something, but they can't figure out what. Together, they have to help save their new wolf friends in Maple Pack, mend Wolf World - and, most importantly, not be eaten! In all this, Will and Whisker are going to find their bond tested as never before…
. . . and what do you think Adam Beer's illustrations bring to the story?
We're so lucky to have Adam Beer doing the illustrations for the book. He's got all the characters spot on. Whisker - both the dog and wolf version - sprang out of the page fully formed! You really feel the menace, charm or mystical qualities of each wolf, and the changing emotions of Will and Clara. The way Adam's brought the Wolf World landscape to life is simply spellbinding, and the team at DFB have done a beautiful job in integrating the pictures and text together. There's a picture near the end that regularly brings me to tears.
3. What was your starting point for this novel and what kind of themes do you explore?
I was fascinated by the links between dogs and wolves - wolves are the ancestors of dogs, but how much dog is there in a wolf and how much wolf is there in a dog? Wolves often get a bad rap in stories (think of the Big Bad Wolf!) and I was really interested to explore the contrast to that: their tenderness to their cubs; their loyalty to their pack.
Will and Clara also struggle sometimes with feeling sad and lonely and I wanted to explore that a bit as well. How do we cope when the people we love are not right by our side?
4. Lots of readers will resonate with the strong bond between Will and his dog, but why did you want to have that at the heart of this story? Are there any special dogs like Whisker in your life?
My wonderful editor, Liz Cross, suggested a story about a boy and a dog, and I instantly loved the idea. I don't have a dog myself, but I meet lots of dogs when I'm out and about on walks, runs or cycle rides. I used to be quite scared of dogs, but now I find myself wanting to stop and ‘talk' to them!
Will and Whisker's bond is central to the story: how much they love each other, and the challenges this brings, especially as dogs and boys can't talk to each other in the way that humans can. I loved writing Whisker speaking from a wolf's body, but still being very much a silly, shambolic dog inside!
5. Yes, in the book, Will has the ability to talk 'wolf' with Whisker and the other wolves. How did the dog / wolf language used in the story develop?
Whisker's voice seemed to spring into life quite naturally - it's just the way he talks in my head, and I'm very glad to have found him! I think he's naturally massively enthusiastic, and that's where his repetition comes from. He wants to emphasise his feelings and do his very best to make sure he is understood.
I wanted the wolves to sound like very different characters, with their own voices: Ash, for instance, is a wolf of not many words. Claw is fastidious and disdainful, spitting out words as she speaks.
. . . And if you could speak with dogs, like Will and Whisker, how do you think the conversation would go?
If I had a dog, right now I think she might be saying: "Well, you look very busy, TeresaMiss, on your screenthing doing all the clicking with your fingers and I am sure you are doing something goodgood . . . but when can we do the most importantimportant thing of the day and go on a big walkwalk in the greenspace? Please? Now? Please? Nownow?"
6. Readers learn quite a bit about wolves through this adventure. How did you go about researching wolves and their pack, and what has stood out for you about these creatures?
I read a lot of non-fiction books about wolves and dogs, which helped give me a grounding for the animal characters in the books and how they might respond to certain situations (though I made quite a lot up, too!) I also read lots of stories about animals, which was a wonderful opportunity to read new books and revisit some of my childhood favourites, like 'A Dog So Small'.
I also visited the wolf pack at Longleat Safari Park and talked to the wolf keepers there. Wolves are such fascinating, intelligent animals. I found out that they grieve, for instance, as every wolf's place in their pack is so important to them. If one member dies, suddenly they don't quite know what to do.
7. Did your research help you create the setting for the story, and the significance of the moon?
Wolves are crepuscular animals - they do their best living in twilight or dawn - so that's why Wolf World is set in gorgeous, purple light. I also wanted there to be lots of different landscapes in Wolf World so that it was constantly surprising and could provide settings for different adventures in different places.
Wolves are said to have a special relationship to the moon, so the Moons were always going to be important, but their importance in moon magic came to me gradually. I initially knew I wanted to have three Moons, so that we could see that Wolf World was clearly different from the real world - but the idea of the MoonEye and its power came quite late in my writing journey - that was a really exciting moment!
8. Will Wolfheart would make a great read-aloud. What kinds of discussions do you hope the book could inspire among children it is shared with?
Oh, that's fantastic to hear, I really hope it's read aloud a lot! I love reading books aloud - partly because I also write lots of picture books! - and I read the manuscript aloud a lot when I was writing it.
I wonder whether there might be some discussions about wolves and dogs and their similarities and differences, or the relationship that you might have with a pet that you have, or a pet that you want. Also, there might be discussions about what it's like to sometimes feel lonely, or how you feel when you miss somebody, whether that's a friend or relative you can't see often, or a person or animal who has died. How do you keep them in your heart?
9. While the story is complete, you have left a door open for a follow-up. Are you planning to write more about Will Wolfheart?
I have ideas for a follow up and I'm crossing my fingers and paws to be able to write another story about Will and Whisker! I'm also at the very early stages of writing a novel set in the real world, and a picture book about a house that eats everything!
10. What does your downtime look like and what are your favourite activities when you're away from your desk?
When I'm away from my desk, you'll often find me in the garden. I love getting my hands in the soil: doing something very practical like weeding and planting. I have a window box packed with blooms by the table where I write, and I love seeing bees and butterflies visiting it. I also love singing and acting. I'm in a four-piece band called The Hot Crumpets and we do lots of very short, zippy songs!
Creative Challenge: How would you encourage children to imagine a conversation with a pet they have or would love to have, like Will does with Whisper?
'Imagine you're looking into an animal's eyes. Maybe it's your own pet, or an animal you would like to have a conversation with. It could be a domestic animal, like a cat or a guinea pig, or it could be a wild animal, like a meerkat or a tiger. Maybe it's an imaginary character, made up from your own head! Imagine how the animal would look into your eyes. What would its eyes look like? What might it be thinking? What would be going on inside its head? Would it be curious or excited? What would it want to do right now, this very minute? Would it want to be inside or outside? Would it want to play? What would it want to eat? Think about how its voice might sound. Would it speak softly or loudly, slowly or quickly? Now, imagine what your animal would say…and what you would say back!
School Events: I love doing school visits! I cover the whole infant and primary age range, from nursery to age 11. I often start with an assembly, and then move on to do readings and workshops with individual classes. I help children make up their own stories and characters, and share my writing process (emphasising that for me, things don't always come out right first time!)
As well as Will Wolfheart, I've had nine picture books and many educational books published, so I can tailor my sessions to the needs of a school and ages of the children. My main aim is helping children see that anyone can write books, and feel that they can be authors themselves!
Please do let me know if you would like me to visit your school. You can contact me via Authors Aloud, Contact An Author, or my website teresaheapy.co.uk. You can also find me on Instagram: @teresaheapy
And finally…. thank you for having me, and a great big HOWWWWWWLLLLL!
Will Wolfheart
