When crows kidnap our protagonist Prue’s baby brother, she's naturally anxious to find him. Unfortunately, that means venturing into Wildwood and the Impassable Wilderness, a portion of Portland no sane person would go. Her schoolmate Curtis follows her within, but is quickly captured by Coyote soldiers!
Naturally, I love fantastical animals, and this book was full of them. A mastiff in a suit, a Labrador in Khakis, Coyotes in army regalia, spectacled owls... but cream with camomile tea? That’s a little hard to stomach.
Anyway, when Curtis meets Alexandra, the Dowager Governess, he learns about the plan to sacrifice Pru's baby brother to the blood sucking vines. Prue goes alone in search of her brother, Curtis investigates too, and they both experience all kinds of magical encounters.
There’s quite a lot of description and explanation of the ‘world’ over the 541 pages. Some impressive words like; castigating, circuitous, acquiesce, aplomb, a bespectacled attaché and a wild riposte; panoply, veldt and retinue, an anglepoise lamp and mullioned bay windows. What I loved the most, however, were the woods. It made me aware of how alive words can be, and how evocative and important it is to capture what we imagine in the most vivid way possible. There were tunnels too—something every fine fantasy should have one in some form or other.
As an eight-year-old story-teller, I yearned to wax-lyrical over my surroundings. In fact, my stories at that age were practically all description. Perhaps since I rarely spoke to an individual who didn’t belong to my family or the animal species. Fortunately I found music, and slowly learned to become less of a turtle. Now, as much as I admire a beautiful phrase and a stunningly crafted passage... I’m a little impatient. Perhaps lazy? Am I looking for a shortcut? Tricks, techniques and ways of sourcing the most efficient route towards a destination... or learning a piece of music? Maybe that's why my first drafts have too many fast paced scenes?
Ah, huh! I feel a revelation coming on!
Despite my preference for plot, this book stayed with me. I thought of it as I walked through the gorge on my way to work, and could picture it clearly. Just like Narnia or middle-earth, with all of those intriguing events taking place within the magical surrounds of nature.
It also made me aware that clothes matter. In fact, as I was reading, I lost track of what Prue was wearing. When she appeared, illustrated in the kitchen, wearing a belt over her shoulder, I thought it was Curtis. After all... Curtis had just witnessed a battle, dressed up in army regalia, addressed as an officer. So why was Prue suddenly wearing a white belt? She was asleep, then having a bath, and then.... Honestly, I felt like I had missed something, so I had to look back. She put on her jeans. Yes, but was she always wearing a belt over her shoulder? Ah... in the process of deduction, I discovered it was the strap of her satchel and not in fact a holster for a gun.
Food for thought! For me, at least.
As an emerging author, other things about this book made me ponder. It’s an incredibly beautiful piece of art. You must see it, and feel it, to believe it. It's made of recycled paper with colourful and black-and-white illustrations and beautiful typography. Yet the 550 page tomb was available at the bargain price of $18, not even on sale... in Australia! Knowing what I do now about the cost of printing, that doesn't seem to add up!
But back to what matters; and that’s the music! Wildwood features ‘a crooked brazen melody played by a brass band,’ drunken tunes, and brawling trumpets. Feet move by staccato, and there’s a shanty sung by a drunken coyote soldier. I also love the hare wearing a colander on his head—very Wind in the Willows and Narnia, with a side of Hughes family comedy. An intruder is announced with three bells tolling and ‘a chorus of birdsong’ arrived when ‘the air grew clamorously melodic.’ Alexandra is a woman with a voice of sonorous music—much like myself—and finally an air is sung called ‘The Wildwood Maiden’ ... with seven stanzas!
That’s not all. The author, Colin Meloy, is actually a muso! How cool is that? He’s a singer and songwriter from America, and although there's no YouTube version of 'The Wildwood Maiden', you can listen to his band, The Decemberists' here.
How awesome is that? Another Muso author! I really must get in touch... TBC.
#Wildwood #Colinmeloy #ferdinandsbooks, #middlegradebooks, #middlegradebookreview, #musicandmiddlegrade.
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