I didn't know this series existed. But, while digging through a box of review materials from days gone by, I found The Wolf Girls: An Unsolved Mystery from History, by Jane Yolen and Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple. Now, Yolen and her daughter have written some excellent books for children, and since reading to a pair of lively and curious twins is one of my daily joys, this was immediately added to the top of the "to be read" pile.

The story is about two young girls, about 2 and 8 years of age, who were allegedly found living with a pack of wolves in a termite mound near a rural village in India in 1920. Although one of them didn't survive long after being "rescued" and taken to a missionary-run orphanage in Midnapore, the girls -- named Amala and Kamala by the missionary's wife -- became international celebrities.

But was the story true? Or did the missionary use two abandoned orphans to bring fame and money to his work?

The book lays out the facts -- which vary somewhat, because the missionary's story wasn't always completely consistent -- and ends with several possible theories about the girls' true origins. At the conclusion, readers are asked to make up their own minds about the tale.

The twins were enthralled, asking questions and posing their own ideas about the girls and their history. It got them thinking, which is always a good outcome from any book.

The book helpfully provides additional notes and definitions along with the narrative, which was useful in explaining the details of the story to the twins. Roger Roth provides colorful illustrations to bring the story to life.

OK, so I realize now I should have known about these books, because another volume in the series -- The Mary Celeste: An Unsolved Mystery From History -- was reviewed by another writer nearly two decades ago. Whoops! Now I see there are still more, covering topics from the Salem witch trials to the lost colony of Roanoke. I might have to place an order....