“Youcannottamesomethingsohappilywild.“
InthisbeautifulpicturebookbyHawaiianartistEmilyHughes,wemeetalittlegirlwhohasknownnothingbutnaturefrombirth—shewastaughttotalkbybirds,toeatbybears,andtoplaybyfoxes.Sheisunashamedly,irrefutably,irrepressiblywild.Thatis,untilsheissnaredbysomeverystrangeanimalsthatlookoddlylikeher,buttheydon’ttalkright,eatright,orplaycorrectly.She’spuzzledbytheirbehaviorandtheirinsistenceonlivinginthesestrangeconcretestructures:there’snogreenhere,noanimals,notrees,norivers.Nowshelivesinthecomfortofcivilization.Butwillcivilizationgetcomfortablewithher?
Inherdebutpicturebook,Hughesbringsanuncannyhumortoherpainterlyillustrations.Herworkisawashwithcolor,atmosphere,andastunningvisualsplendorthatwillenchantchildrenwhileindulgingtheirwildertendencies.Wildisatwenty-first-centuryanswertoMauriceSendak’schildren’sclassic—ithasthesameinventiveness,groundbreakingart,andunmissablequirkiness.
