Published by Oxford University Press, 2023.

Yuval Zommer is well known for creating beautiful picture books set in the natural world. My son and I have enjoyed many of his earlier books and we were delighted to receive a copy of The Wild.

In The Wild, our Earth is depicted as a living wolf-like creature and its story is told as a modern fable. We travel across the Earth taking in forests, rivers and oceans, mountains tops and vast plains. We move through seasons and time. At first, the Wild is populated only by animals but then humans arrive. The Wild is giving – providing twigs for birds to make their nests, earth for foxes to dig their burrows and materials for people to build their homes. And, at first, people live in harmony with the Wild, taking care of it and not taking too much.

However, people become greedy and selfish and start plundering the Wild until it becomes weak and unwell. Fires burn, forests are decimated, and smoke clogs the air. The stark contrast between these scenes of destruction and the beautiful images earlier in the book is really striking; Yuval Zommer has created a powerful environmental story.

For the Wild to be well again someone must be brave enough to raise their voice. Ultimately, this is a book of hope offering the promise of change through individual and collective action. When enough people speak up and work together to care for the Wild, there is hope for its future.

The Wild is a timely picture book which encourages us to reflect on our relationship with nature. Its message is empowering; our efforts have the power to do good and reverse years of environmental damage. It’s a powerful call to arms.

Rating: 💙💙💙💙💙

Suitable for children aged 5+

Thank you to Oxford University Press for sending me this book to review. I reviewed this book as part of the The Wild blog tour. Check out all the other posts on the tour for more exclusive content.