I love all of the Earth's Children books and have read the entire series back to back at least 20 times. Seriously. I love these books, but I have to say this one is definitely my least favorite of them all. I dont have much to add after reading the other reviews, about the repetitive descriptions of the scenery, NODES! LOL, and how pretty much perfect Jondalar and Ayla are and how they always manage to save the day. But what gets me, as a dog owner and animal lover is how perfect the ANIMALS are! I realize that wolves and horses are very intelligent creatures and certainly can be trained, and even trained with hand signals (as I've trained my own dogs). But the things that Ayla is able to make them do just strains the imagination. It is as if her animals can not only read her mind but she can train them to consistently do things that goes against their own instinct. Particularly the way Wolf behaves when Ayla is about to be dispatched. Although, that is the one time that Wolf actually DOES follow his instincts no matter what Ayla told him to do. A little far-fetched, some of it, but again, I love the whole series and you can't read the series and skip a book. I do admit to skipping over some parts but still I would recommend this book, if for no other reason, than it is a part of a wonderful series. Every time I read these books is like a vacation to me. I hope there are more books to follow Shelters of Stone.