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[Wild] [By: Hughes, Emily] [September, 2013]
"You cannot tame something so happily wild."
In this beautiful picture book by Hawaiian artist Emily Hughes, we meet a little girl who has known nothing but nature from birth—she was taught to talk by birds, to eat by bears, and to play by foxes. She is unashamedly, irrefutably, irrepressibly wild. That is, until she is snared by some very strange animals that look oddly like her, but they don't talk right, eat right, or play correctly. She's puzzled by their behavior and their insistence on living in these strange concrete structures: there's no green here, no animals, no trees, no rivers. Now she lives in the comfort of civilization. But will civilization get comfortable with her?
In her debut picture book, Hughes brings an uncanny humor to her painterly illustrations. Her work is awash with color, atmosphere, and a stunning visual splendor that will enchant children while indulging their wilder tendencies. Wild is a twenty-first-century answer to Maurice Sendak's children's classic—it has the same inventiveness, groundbreaking art, and unmissable quirkiness.
Emily Hughes is a talented young illustrator. Her book Nana Shaped Like a Banana won second prize in the 2012 Macmillan Children's Book Awards.
In this beautiful picture book by Hawaiian artist Emily Hughes, we meet a little girl who has known nothing but nature from birth—she was taught to talk by birds, to eat by bears, and to play by foxes. She is unashamedly, irrefutably, irrepressibly wild. That is, until she is snared by some very strange animals that look oddly like her, but they don't talk right, eat right, or play correctly. She's puzzled by their behavior and their insistence on living in these strange concrete structures: there's no green here, no animals, no trees, no rivers. Now she lives in the comfort of civilization. But will civilization get comfortable with her?
In her debut picture book, Hughes brings an uncanny humor to her painterly illustrations. Her work is awash with color, atmosphere, and a stunning visual splendor that will enchant children while indulging their wilder tendencies. Wild is a twenty-first-century answer to Maurice Sendak's children's classic—it has the same inventiveness, groundbreaking art, and unmissable quirkiness.
Emily Hughes is a talented young illustrator. Her book Nana Shaped Like a Banana won second prize in the 2012 Macmillan Children's Book Awards.
Unknown Binding
First published September 10, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 278 reviews
January 17, 2019
A baby is found in the forest by a group of animals, they play, find food and live together happily until she is found by some men hunting with their dog. When taken from the forest she goes to live with a couple and is dreadfully unhappy. She decides 'enough is enough' she destroys the couples house and goes back to the wild. Here she is happy again 'Because you can't tame something so happily wild'
I really don't know what this book was trying to say. For a start the couple that the child goes to live with are depicted as cold and angry, in some scenes they look completely scary and almost abusive. I wouldn't want to share this with a young child. I don't know why the girls pupils are so enlarged. The destruction of the house isn't a good example of what you do if you're unhappy about something. If this book was about a wild animal living unhappily with humans I could see the point of the story but a child needs loving parents. The illustrations are beautiful but I think this would be a very confusing read for children.
I really don't know what this book was trying to say. For a start the couple that the child goes to live with are depicted as cold and angry, in some scenes they look completely scary and almost abusive. I wouldn't want to share this with a young child. I don't know why the girls pupils are so enlarged. The destruction of the house isn't a good example of what you do if you're unhappy about something. If this book was about a wild animal living unhappily with humans I could see the point of the story but a child needs loving parents. The illustrations are beautiful but I think this would be a very confusing read for children.
December 29, 2022
Leído con y para mi sobrino que cumplía 3 años. ¡Es un libro súper especial! He esperado a que fuera lo suficientemente mayor para pasar las páginas con destreza y entender la historia.
Ideal para cualquier niño que no queráis convertir en un minizombie. Because you cannot tame something so happily wild!
Ideal para cualquier niño que no queráis convertir en un minizombie. Because you cannot tame something so happily wild!
January 3, 2019
Raised in the wild by the animals of the forest, a young human girl is taught to speak by the birds, to eat by the bears and to play by the foxes. Then she is 'discovered' by two creatures just like her, who remove her from the forest and try to make her live like them. Their efforts prove futile in the end, however, and she returns to the wild, where (the narrator informs us) she belongs...
This debut from Hawaiian-born author/artist Emily Hughes put me strongly in mind of Marianne Mayer's The Boy Who Ran With The Gazelles , which also tells the story of a feral child who cannot be reclaimed by humanity after his many years running wild. Unlike so many other online reviewers (and perhaps even in contradiction of the creator's intention), I wasn't able to read Wild as affirmation of the beauty of the wilderness. Rather, I took away the message that human culture is a terribly fragile thing, one easily undermined and permanently lost, if a person's early childhood is too traumatic, or if they are separated from the rest of humanity at too young an age. There are a number of true stories from the pages of history and current events, both concerning feral children raised in the wild, and children raised in isolation by abusive human adults, that indicate that it is difficult to overcome such early experiences, and learn language, culture, and normal human behaviors. Intentional or not, this reads as a tragedy to me, albeit a beautifully-illustrated one, and I found myself scratching my head a bit at the many reviewers who seem oblivious to this, and parrot the "sometimes things are meant to be wild" line. I doubt they'd abandon their own infants in the forest, so they're no doubt reading this figuratively, rather than as an actual feral child story.
Responses will vary, of course, so I recommend people pick this one up and read it themselves, to see what they think.
This debut from Hawaiian-born author/artist Emily Hughes put me strongly in mind of Marianne Mayer's The Boy Who Ran With The Gazelles , which also tells the story of a feral child who cannot be reclaimed by humanity after his many years running wild. Unlike so many other online reviewers (and perhaps even in contradiction of the creator's intention), I wasn't able to read Wild as affirmation of the beauty of the wilderness. Rather, I took away the message that human culture is a terribly fragile thing, one easily undermined and permanently lost, if a person's early childhood is too traumatic, or if they are separated from the rest of humanity at too young an age. There are a number of true stories from the pages of history and current events, both concerning feral children raised in the wild, and children raised in isolation by abusive human adults, that indicate that it is difficult to overcome such early experiences, and learn language, culture, and normal human behaviors. Intentional or not, this reads as a tragedy to me, albeit a beautifully-illustrated one, and I found myself scratching my head a bit at the many reviewers who seem oblivious to this, and parrot the "sometimes things are meant to be wild" line. I doubt they'd abandon their own infants in the forest, so they're no doubt reading this figuratively, rather than as an actual feral child story.
Responses will vary, of course, so I recommend people pick this one up and read it themselves, to see what they think.
February 11, 2017
Don’t you just love the cover of this book? I think that is why I had to read it. Inside, the text is easy to read, the illustrations are captivating but I just couldn’t feel the love. I was angry and bitter after reading this story. The whole premise of the book is that the girl is raised in the wild, for the birds taught her to sing, the bears taught her to eat, and the foxes taught her how to play. One day the humans came into the forest and found her, they took her back to civilization and tried to make her a human. Each two-page spread has a single sentence on it with a fabulous picture but it’s the adults in the book that have me shaken. The young couple who found the child in the forest was suddenly changed out in the next page, with two older adults, who from the beginning irritated me. We see the child in now in their care and on the front page of the local newspaper it states, “Famed psychiatrist takes in feral child.” The look on their faces and the lack of love and emotion is felt immediately and I am heartbroken. Their facial expressions make me want to close the book, what transpires next in the book does not surprise me. I don’t like it, why the young couple didn’t keep the child is beyond me and why the adults behaved the way they did angers me. This book is not a good one for me but I liked the illustrations and I liked the text size and fonts, which is what I based my rating on.
August 17, 2016
Cute story, beautiful illustrations.
I enjoyed the relationship with the domesticated animals suggested in their expressions of understanding.
I enjoyed the relationship with the domesticated animals suggested in their expressions of understanding.
January 13, 2015
لا يمكنك أبدا أن تدجن كائنا بهذا التوحش الجميل.
December 28, 2018
Found this frankly disturbing, with its depiction of hollow-eyed psychotic-looking adults, and wouldn’t want to read it to any small children I know. I don’t like the little jokes aimed at adult readers - how many small children know or want to know about feral children? As a work of the imagination, it seems to me like hitting children with a sledgehammer.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 25, 2020
Özgür aslında bir insan değildi. Onun evi aslında doğaydı. Ayı,karga, kurt abilerinden ablalarından ne yapması gerektiğini öğrendi. Onun evi orasıydı. Orayı seviyordu. Ayrılmak istemiyordu. ( Yorum yazan Elif Dedemoğlu)
August 2, 2015
Обичам издателство Рибка! Диво е заиграване с Where the Wild Things Are, но за момичета ;-) Картинките са чудесни, напомнят ми малко на Louve, но историята не е нищо впечатляващо или запомнящо се. Не усетих искрения детски конфликт. Да си див, да се опитат да се опитомят, но да избягаш, за да бъдеш див и щастлив. Не ми говори този проблем. Аз си предпочитам Where the Wild things Are, където историята е обърната - от обикновеното към дивото и после обратно завръщане, каквото, доколкото си спомням, беше преживяването, като потънеш в игри цял следобед.
December 19, 2016
I adore the cover, and I like the floral illustrations of the wild... but this didn't do it for me. I think if it was about an animal instead of a child, I'd be game. Even a grown up (a la Tarzan) instead of a child, I'd be game. But what a terrible idea to really let a child go back into the wild. And I know it's just a picture book and that the real point is to not force people to be "normal" if that doesn't suit them, but I'm not impressed with how this story went about making it's point. I think I was expecting more of a "nature girl" vibe instead of a literal "girl living in nature" story.
May 18, 2020
Este libro nos trae una sencilla historia con exquisitas ilustraciones y un tremendo trasfondo detrás.
Nos hace pensar sobre los convencionalismos, los clichés, la forma de ser del ser humano, siempre intentando domar lo indomable, sin querer admitir que hay cosas, seres demasiado puros e inocentes que deberían seguir así.
Nos habla a través de la historia de una niñita sin nombre que es criada por los animales en el bosque, y luego "capturada" por unos hombres para civilizarla, por su propio bien, pero a la fuerza y sin consideración, sobre respeto, tolerancia, libertad. Criticando a los seres humanos "civilizados" y a la sociedad.
Es un cuento muy cortito perfecto para compartir entre padres e hijos, ya que trae lecciones para ambos. Porque está bien a veces, ser un poco salvaje.
"No se puede domar algo tan felizmente salvaje."
Emily Hughes.
Nos hace pensar sobre los convencionalismos, los clichés, la forma de ser del ser humano, siempre intentando domar lo indomable, sin querer admitir que hay cosas, seres demasiado puros e inocentes que deberían seguir así.
Nos habla a través de la historia de una niñita sin nombre que es criada por los animales en el bosque, y luego "capturada" por unos hombres para civilizarla, por su propio bien, pero a la fuerza y sin consideración, sobre respeto, tolerancia, libertad. Criticando a los seres humanos "civilizados" y a la sociedad.
Es un cuento muy cortito perfecto para compartir entre padres e hijos, ya que trae lecciones para ambos. Porque está bien a veces, ser un poco salvaje.
"No se puede domar algo tan felizmente salvaje."
Emily Hughes.
April 15, 2021
2,75 Pewnego dnia mała dziewczynka wychowana w lesie przeprowadza się do wielkiego miasta. Co tam spotka? Czy odnajdzie się w tej miejskiej dżungli? Dlaczego wszystko wyda się jej dziwne?
„Dzika” to historia o wyobcowaniu, inności, potrzebie bycia sobą.
Uważam, że Emily Hughes zadebiutowała przepięknymi ilustracjami. Na pewno są one wyjątkowe i zapadają czytelnikowi w pamięć. Niestety jak dla mnie wartościowego tekstu było w tej książce zbyt mało. Patrząc na cenę okładkową (ponad 50 zł), spodziewałam się go po prostu więcej. Gdybym miała kupić tę pozycję dla samej historii, byłabym rozczarowana.
Czegoś mi w tej uroczej pozycji zabrakło. W pewnym momencie akcja potoczyła się tak dynamicznie, że nie zdążyłam dobrze przewrócić strony a już książka się skończyła a ja zostałam z uczuciem pustki i niespełnienia.
Nie lubię takiego uczucia. Nie lubię.
„Dzika” to historia o wyobcowaniu, inności, potrzebie bycia sobą.
Uważam, że Emily Hughes zadebiutowała przepięknymi ilustracjami. Na pewno są one wyjątkowe i zapadają czytelnikowi w pamięć. Niestety jak dla mnie wartościowego tekstu było w tej książce zbyt mało. Patrząc na cenę okładkową (ponad 50 zł), spodziewałam się go po prostu więcej. Gdybym miała kupić tę pozycję dla samej historii, byłabym rozczarowana.
Czegoś mi w tej uroczej pozycji zabrakło. W pewnym momencie akcja potoczyła się tak dynamicznie, że nie zdążyłam dobrze przewrócić strony a już książka się skończyła a ja zostałam z uczuciem pustki i niespełnienia.
Nie lubię takiego uczucia. Nie lubię.
December 20, 2020
Un libro muy bonito con unas ilustraciones preciosas con un mensaje estupendo.
December 25, 2013
There lives in every child an animal. A wild, untamable creature that will emerge without fail at the worst possible moments, rendering its parents helpless and hopeless all in one swoop. There also exist in this world picture books that touch on this restrained/free duality. You might even argue that the BEST children’s books touch on this in some way (Where the Wild Things Are being the most obvious example). In 2013 alone we saw Peter Brown’s Mr. Tiger Goes Wild talk about the need in every child for order as well as wild uninhibited freedom. Wild, in contrast, is a simpler story. Following just one girl from her path from nature to the city and back again, it has a different lesson in mind. It is all well and good for some to find a happy medium between chaos and order but for some kids chaos is clearly MUCH more appealing!
“No one remembered how she came to the woods, but all knew it was right.” A green-haired baby smiles contentedly on a forest floor as a bear, bird, and fox look on. Over the years the bird teaches her to speak, the bear to eat, and the fox to play. Unfortunately a hunter’s trap catches the child by her foliage-like hair and a pair of baffled hunters takes her back with them to civilization. There the child is forced to reside in the home of a well-meaning psychiatrist and his wife. Attempts to normalize her fail resoundingly and at last she flees back to the wild, the family dog and cat in tow. After all, “you cannot tame something so happily wild.”
A British-born Hawaiian-residing author/illustrator, Emily Hughes’ art is fascinating to look at, partly because it’s so incredibly European. It’s something about the eyes, I think. Or maybe just the way the landscape and the animals intertwine. The bears, for example, reminded me of nothing so much as the ones found in The Bear s Song by Benjamin Chaud (a Frenchman). The heroine herself is somehow big-eyed without devolving into preciousness (a delicate balance). Her plant-like hair almost looks like it might be sentient at times. People in general are rendered with a fine hand. My favorite shot is of the wild child being brought to civilization by the two clearly shell-shocked hunters. As the men, and even their dog, drive in the rain, their eyes ringed with worry, the child sits on the front seat with only her eyes visible over the dash. She is clearly silent and livid.
It’s interesting to look at the settings and colors in the book as well. As the girl is raised there isn’t a white page to be seen until the last fateful line of “And she understood, and was happy.” Then, when humanity intervenes, the white pages begin to proliferate. Interior spreads are either grey/green or peach/brown and nothing else. It’s as much a relief to the reader’s eye as it is the child’s spirit when she escapes again into the wild. I was particularly pleased too with the two-page wordless humanless spread displaying only the child’s wanton path of destruction. As for the wild itself, here we have a utopian Eden, where animals might eat the occasional fish but never a green-haired baby child. Or, for that matter, one another.
One quibble I have with the book is the final line. It ends on an ellipsis, you see. Now I’m as big a fan of your average everyday ellipses as the next gal. And I understand that there must have been long editorial discussions with the author/illustrator that justified its presence on the last page. I just have absolutely no idea what those justifications could possibly be. The line reads, “Because you cannot tame something so happily wild…” Maybe the dot dot dot is there to suggest that this isn’t the end of the story? I haven't a better idea.
Oh, they’ll tag this as an eco-centric morality tale, I’m sure. Wild/nature = good, civilization/standardization = bad. That sort of thing. Honestly, I think it has a lot more to say about the inner life of a young child than any overt messagey message about Mother Earth. But there aren’t any rules governing how you use a book, so go on! Use it to talk to kids about nature and the outdoors. Use it to talk about acceptable and non-acceptable behavior and when those rules break down. Use it to discuss tropes most common in European vs. American books, or what makes this book a stand out in its field. Talk about it any old way you like, but make sure you talk about it. A surprisingly lovely little piece that bears similarities to hundreds of pictures books out there, but isn’t really like a single one. One of a kind.
For ages 3-7.
“No one remembered how she came to the woods, but all knew it was right.” A green-haired baby smiles contentedly on a forest floor as a bear, bird, and fox look on. Over the years the bird teaches her to speak, the bear to eat, and the fox to play. Unfortunately a hunter’s trap catches the child by her foliage-like hair and a pair of baffled hunters takes her back with them to civilization. There the child is forced to reside in the home of a well-meaning psychiatrist and his wife. Attempts to normalize her fail resoundingly and at last she flees back to the wild, the family dog and cat in tow. After all, “you cannot tame something so happily wild.”
A British-born Hawaiian-residing author/illustrator, Emily Hughes’ art is fascinating to look at, partly because it’s so incredibly European. It’s something about the eyes, I think. Or maybe just the way the landscape and the animals intertwine. The bears, for example, reminded me of nothing so much as the ones found in The Bear s Song by Benjamin Chaud (a Frenchman). The heroine herself is somehow big-eyed without devolving into preciousness (a delicate balance). Her plant-like hair almost looks like it might be sentient at times. People in general are rendered with a fine hand. My favorite shot is of the wild child being brought to civilization by the two clearly shell-shocked hunters. As the men, and even their dog, drive in the rain, their eyes ringed with worry, the child sits on the front seat with only her eyes visible over the dash. She is clearly silent and livid.
It’s interesting to look at the settings and colors in the book as well. As the girl is raised there isn’t a white page to be seen until the last fateful line of “And she understood, and was happy.” Then, when humanity intervenes, the white pages begin to proliferate. Interior spreads are either grey/green or peach/brown and nothing else. It’s as much a relief to the reader’s eye as it is the child’s spirit when she escapes again into the wild. I was particularly pleased too with the two-page wordless humanless spread displaying only the child’s wanton path of destruction. As for the wild itself, here we have a utopian Eden, where animals might eat the occasional fish but never a green-haired baby child. Or, for that matter, one another.
One quibble I have with the book is the final line. It ends on an ellipsis, you see. Now I’m as big a fan of your average everyday ellipses as the next gal. And I understand that there must have been long editorial discussions with the author/illustrator that justified its presence on the last page. I just have absolutely no idea what those justifications could possibly be. The line reads, “Because you cannot tame something so happily wild…” Maybe the dot dot dot is there to suggest that this isn’t the end of the story? I haven't a better idea.
Oh, they’ll tag this as an eco-centric morality tale, I’m sure. Wild/nature = good, civilization/standardization = bad. That sort of thing. Honestly, I think it has a lot more to say about the inner life of a young child than any overt messagey message about Mother Earth. But there aren’t any rules governing how you use a book, so go on! Use it to talk to kids about nature and the outdoors. Use it to talk about acceptable and non-acceptable behavior and when those rules break down. Use it to discuss tropes most common in European vs. American books, or what makes this book a stand out in its field. Talk about it any old way you like, but make sure you talk about it. A surprisingly lovely little piece that bears similarities to hundreds of pictures books out there, but isn’t really like a single one. One of a kind.
For ages 3-7.
February 18, 2016
The main character's face is very, very expressive. The art in this book is just beautiful...so detailed and wonderful! It's about a little girl somehow abandoned in the forest, who is taken in by the forest creatures and lives a happy, feral life. Until one day she's discovered by some hipster hunters (or, I guess, they caught her in their bear trap? Only her hair was caught but that's pretty harsh, hipsters. Is using a bear trap really sporting? They take her to live with Famed Psychiatrist and his wife (presumably I'm supposed to assume the man is Famed Psychiatrist because he's the one measuring her head and taking notes while the lady just brushes the kid's hair and tries to cut her meat...but technically the lady could be Famed Psychiatrist while her significant other is her assistant. But I don't think I'm supposed to think that) and they just get mad at her for not learning even though it doesn't look like she's been there very long and so when she runs away they're just like "good riddance" which will be hard to explain to the papers but whatever. Famed Psychiatrist's dog and cat escape with our friend as well and live happy lives in harmony with the animals of the forest because this is a magical forest where predator and prey hang out and don't kill each other. I don't know what the bears and foxes eat but that's not the point of this story - the point is, you do you. I really like the magic in this book actually, because I would love to imagine that there are forests that exist where all the animals love each other and never die and people can have plants for hair. Probably somewhere in Europe.
ETA: of course I know what the bears and foxes eat, because there was a whole page dedicated to it that I apparently forgot, they eat fish. Sorry fish, you don't belong in our happy family of animals!
ETA: of course I know what the bears and foxes eat, because there was a whole page dedicated to it that I apparently forgot, they eat fish. Sorry fish, you don't belong in our happy family of animals!
February 19, 2020
çizimler harika, "mesaj kaygısı" çok fena.
özgürlüğü "ormanda çıplak dolaşmak, elle yemek yemek" vb. olarak gösteren, doğa ile kültürün -sözde- ikiliğini karikatürleştirerek bunların arasına uçurumlar açan, bir tarafı güzellerken diğerini "canavar"laştıran böyle bir kitabı çocuklara okumak isteyeceğimi sanmıyorum açıkçası. evet, bir şeyler söylemeye çalışıyor kitap ama bunu nasıl yaptığını veya bunun çocuklara neler ifade edebileceğini değerlendirmemiz gerekiyor.
bu kitapta olduğu gibi "doğaya dönmek" (ve nedense bu doğa materyal gerçeklikten fazlasıyla kopuk, aslında daha soyut bir kavram olarak karşımıza çıkıyor) ve "medeniyet"le bağı koparmak (ve bununla gelen medeniyetin özünde -her daim- kötü ve kötücül olduğu vurgusu) tasvirleri ve bunlarla gelen birtakım "mesajlar" bu kitapların hitap ettiği (örneğin bunun arka kapağında 2-6 yaş yazıyordu) kitleye göre fazla karmaşık ve eleştirel bakışı dışlayan, "mesaj"ı laps diye ortaya bırakan yaklaşımından ötürü tehlikeli geliyor.
özgürlüğü "ormanda çıplak dolaşmak, elle yemek yemek" vb. olarak gösteren, doğa ile kültürün -sözde- ikiliğini karikatürleştirerek bunların arasına uçurumlar açan, bir tarafı güzellerken diğerini "canavar"laştıran böyle bir kitabı çocuklara okumak isteyeceğimi sanmıyorum açıkçası. evet, bir şeyler söylemeye çalışıyor kitap ama bunu nasıl yaptığını veya bunun çocuklara neler ifade edebileceğini değerlendirmemiz gerekiyor.
bu kitapta olduğu gibi "doğaya dönmek" (ve nedense bu doğa materyal gerçeklikten fazlasıyla kopuk, aslında daha soyut bir kavram olarak karşımıza çıkıyor) ve "medeniyet"le bağı koparmak (ve bununla gelen medeniyetin özünde -her daim- kötü ve kötücül olduğu vurgusu) tasvirleri ve bunlarla gelen birtakım "mesajlar" bu kitapların hitap ettiği (örneğin bunun arka kapağında 2-6 yaş yazıyordu) kitleye göre fazla karmaşık ve eleştirel bakışı dışlayan, "mesaj"ı laps diye ortaya bırakan yaklaşımından ötürü tehlikeli geliyor.
August 21, 2017
"You cannot tame something so happily wild..."
This has quickly become one of my favourite children's books! I had a baby girl ten weeks ago and I have been reading this to her most nights. (Her arrival explains why I haven't been on Goodreads in a little bit!)
Wild is the story of a little girl who was born into nature and has absorbed everything it has to offer. She plays with bears and foxes, eats among them and speaks with the birds of the forest. One day, she meets another form of creature who looks exactly like her. She leaves her home and despite being expected to adapt to her new reality, she craves the environment she knows best.
Emily Hughes is an incredibly talented illustrator. The artwork in this book is bold, unique and truly, truly stunning. It is such innovative work and I cannot help but be mesmerized by it. On top of that, this story is so beautiful! My husband and our little family are such fans of nature and the outdoors and the story of this girl and her wild ways is both exciting and heartwarming.
I couldn't love this little wonder of a book more and would encourage any parent to add a copy of this to their children's library! Five stars!
This has quickly become one of my favourite children's books! I had a baby girl ten weeks ago and I have been reading this to her most nights. (Her arrival explains why I haven't been on Goodreads in a little bit!)
Wild is the story of a little girl who was born into nature and has absorbed everything it has to offer. She plays with bears and foxes, eats among them and speaks with the birds of the forest. One day, she meets another form of creature who looks exactly like her. She leaves her home and despite being expected to adapt to her new reality, she craves the environment she knows best.
Emily Hughes is an incredibly talented illustrator. The artwork in this book is bold, unique and truly, truly stunning. It is such innovative work and I cannot help but be mesmerized by it. On top of that, this story is so beautiful! My husband and our little family are such fans of nature and the outdoors and the story of this girl and her wild ways is both exciting and heartwarming.
I couldn't love this little wonder of a book more and would encourage any parent to add a copy of this to their children's library! Five stars!
April 8, 2014
I used this book as a core text with my year 3 class. The story is short enough to read in one session and the children enjoyed the pictures. It is essentially a fish-out-of-water story. My class discussed what the humans must have thought of the Wild Girl and what she thought about them. I broke the story into five parts and encouraged the children to write their own five-part fish-out-of-water stories.
1) How the girl felt at the beginning when she lived in the forest;
2) Why she went to live with the humans;
3) How she felt when she lived with the humans
4) Why she decided to leave;
5) How she felt when she returned to the forest.
Although the language in the story itself is quite simple, children will need to use a range of connectives such as 'because,' 'but' and 'whereas' to explain what is going on in the story.
1) How the girl felt at the beginning when she lived in the forest;
2) Why she went to live with the humans;
3) How she felt when she lived with the humans
4) Why she decided to leave;
5) How she felt when she returned to the forest.
Although the language in the story itself is quite simple, children will need to use a range of connectives such as 'because,' 'but' and 'whereas' to explain what is going on in the story.
January 14, 2019
Beautiful bright illustrations that are engaging and brilliant use of emotion on the characters faces.
It demonstrates the importance of embracing differences in beliefs, attitudes, actions, cultures etc etc
I would use this book to demonstrate how what seems normal to one person can seem so strange to another and how we can explore these differences rather than inflict our own norms on others.
It demonstrates the importance of embracing differences in beliefs, attitudes, actions, cultures etc etc
I would use this book to demonstrate how what seems normal to one person can seem so strange to another and how we can explore these differences rather than inflict our own norms on others.
April 16, 2015
Strange book - illustrations of background and nature are lovely. The illustrations of the little girl are odd, except for the cover.
The story of the animals taking care of the little girl is nice.
I don't like the whole package.
The story of the animals taking care of the little girl is nice.
I don't like the whole package.
June 7, 2017
Много ми харесва! Издателство Рибка благодаря ви и за Диво и за всички хубави книги, които издадохте на български!
August 7, 2020
Lovely work.
What I love about children’s books is the way any idea is delivered, expressed and interpreted. I love how deep it gets me to think.
What I love about children’s books is the way any idea is delivered, expressed and interpreted. I love how deep it gets me to think.
December 10, 2018
Único.
February 11, 2021
Great artwork and story.I am not sure that she is a good role model.
February 1, 2022
nothing but adorable, charming and amusing. the game of illustration is high up the sky. quite remarkable.
January 29, 2014
Wild is the story of a feral child who lives in the forest amongst the animals and she is happy there. Until one day some people find her and try to save her from what they think is an awful life. The people try very hard to make the girl live like they do but she is not keen on the idea at all.
It is the illustrations that truly make this book. There are not so many words but the pictures tell a thousand more. The imagery is modern and wonderfully detailed, filled with lots of cute characters with humorous expressions. The story provides us with the message of how important it is to be ourselves and to be happy with whom we really are.
This would be a nice book to read for story-time, as it is very short and would be perfect to fill in a few spare minutes. Alternatively, if time was more abundant there is a lot of content to be drawn out from the pictures, which could be done through questioning and discussion. Key Stage 1 children and lower Key Stage 2 would enjoy Wild.
It is the illustrations that truly make this book. There are not so many words but the pictures tell a thousand more. The imagery is modern and wonderfully detailed, filled with lots of cute characters with humorous expressions. The story provides us with the message of how important it is to be ourselves and to be happy with whom we really are.
This would be a nice book to read for story-time, as it is very short and would be perfect to fill in a few spare minutes. Alternatively, if time was more abundant there is a lot of content to be drawn out from the pictures, which could be done through questioning and discussion. Key Stage 1 children and lower Key Stage 2 would enjoy Wild.
May 3, 2016
As a bookworm of the family, I always buy people books, 'cause I know my stuff, haha. Thus, since one of my beloved little relatives is having her 4th birthday, I decided to find a nice book for her, which I, obviously, had to read before I could hand it to her.
Wild, long story short, is a beautiful picture book that speaks about a feral child who, in the end, encounters humans. Sounds a bit banal, but it's still lovely as Hughes has done a great job in depicting matters of great importance, which are, inter alia, exploring and embracing one's peculiarities, and passing such notions to children in a highly accessible manner.
It's not the best children's book that I encountered so far, but I'm still pleased I've chosen this lovely work and I'm sure I'll provide some copies to other little members of my family.
Wild, long story short, is a beautiful picture book that speaks about a feral child who, in the end, encounters humans. Sounds a bit banal, but it's still lovely as Hughes has done a great job in depicting matters of great importance, which are, inter alia, exploring and embracing one's peculiarities, and passing such notions to children in a highly accessible manner.
It's not the best children's book that I encountered so far, but I'm still pleased I've chosen this lovely work and I'm sure I'll provide some copies to other little members of my family.
December 6, 2015
This book is cute and pretty but that main character is sure a really terrible person, isn't she? Glorify wildness and animalism and whatnot, fine. That stuff can be very sweet and healthy -- people need nature and they need their connection to nature (raised in it or not).
But don't glorify destroying somebody's belongings just because you're angry. Reading this book to sensitive little minds is telling them quite squarely: if you're angry enough, this is justified. If you express your anger in a careless, violent way, you will likely feel better.
It's a pretty book, but it is a bad, bad book.
But don't glorify destroying somebody's belongings just because you're angry. Reading this book to sensitive little minds is telling them quite squarely: if you're angry enough, this is justified. If you express your anger in a careless, violent way, you will likely feel better.
It's a pretty book, but it is a bad, bad book.
Read
December 27, 2015Прекрасни рисунки с адски много детайли за разглеждане. Възхитен съм как художничката постига такова изящество с всъщност толкова груби линии.
Чудесно изградена главна героиня в развитие. На страницата със "Стига толкова!" подскочих от радост.
В крайна сметка никой не е див, просто не е намерил или е откъснат от мястото, където може да обича.
Българското издание е пипнато отвсякъде, Емили Хюз е вкарала български надписи в рисунките си, хартията е прекрасна, преводът е добър, но ми се струва, че текстът има нужда от редактор, правеха впечатление някои буквализми.
Чудесно изградена главна героиня в развитие. На страницата със "Стига толкова!" подскочих от радост.
В крайна сметка никой не е див, просто не е намерил или е откъснат от мястото, където може да обича.
Българското издание е пипнато отвсякъде, Емили Хюз е вкарала български надписи в рисунките си, хартията е прекрасна, преводът е добър, но ми се струва, че текстът има нужда от редактор, правеха впечатление някои буквализми.
June 21, 2015
I liked the wildness of the illustrations, and the expressions. You could feel the movement in the drawings, and it was lovely. But I just didn't care for the storyline. She has a wonderful childhood, then is ripped away from it and put somewhere horrible, so she runs away. She returned to her true home, but running away isn't a solution I would want my children to think was ok.
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