14 August 2010 IN THE WILD by David Elliott and Holly Meade, ill. Candlewick, August 2010, 32p., ISBN: 978-0-7636-4497-0

"Who's always eager to extend

A friendly claw?

That's what friends are for!"

-- Robert and Richard Sherman, (The Vulture Song from Disney's The Jungle Book)

"The Northern Sumatran Rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis lasiotis) listed here as extinct might still survive in parts of India and Myanmar.  Recent sightings of this rhino subspecies in the far eastern India states of Manipur and Nagaland suggest the hairy Sumatran rhinoceros are surviving on the subcontinent.  There are also unconfirmed reports of this mammal from Myanmar and occasionally Sumatran rhino horns turn up in markets in Thailand that are allegedly coming from Myanmar.  The problem is that most areas where this rhino could occur are still no-go areas, controlled by rebels, drug dealers or smugglers."

-- from Peter Maas's The Extinction Website 

"A horn stuck on a boot-like face,

So wrong, so clearly out of place.

A frightful sight, preposterous --

it must be a Rhinoceros!"

There are three reasons why I am especially excited about IN THE WILD. 

First, I've been doing workshops on sharing poetry with children and this is a really fun collection of illustrated poems. 

Second, kids of all ages have a timeless fascination with large, wild animals, which will make this an exceptionally popular book.  

Third, I feel the weight of living through a time in history when an unprecedented number of animal species have become extinct or endangered as a result of the population growth of and impact upon the planet by humans, and I want to believe that a lot of kids who have positive literary experiences in getting to know about wild animals will be more sensitive to news of endangered species -- particularly species of large mammals -- and will be more apt to actively support efforts to protect the animals themselves and the related habitats.

There are some really terrific poems here.  The first one I'm working on memorizing is this:

"Big, yet moves

with grace.

Powerful, yet delicate

as lace.

As to color, plain --

an ordinary gray.

But once we start to look,

we cannot look away.

When peaceful, silent;

when angry, loud.

Who would have guessed

the Elephant

is so much like a cloud?"

Holly Meade's full spread watercolor-over-woodcut illustrations achieve a really nice balance between wildness and approachability without ever venturing anywhere near cuteness.  In the case of the elephant, the powerful-yet-delicate animal is in profile and on the move (like a cloud).  The eye is regarding us with neither fear nor anger; more like mild interest.  The elephant is far too large to be confined to the two pages, and so we only see up as high as the eye, the base of the trunk, and the base of the tail; the remainder spills off of the page. 

"Strut on a line, it's discord and rhyme

I howl and I whine I'm after you"

-- Duran Duran "Hungry Like the Wolf"

From wolves to jaguars to kangaroos to polar bears, this is a very welcome collection of wild things. 

Richie Partington, MLIS
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