THE WILD
Protecting the Wild “Once upon our time, somewhere not far away, was the Wild…” When we talk about protecting with: “Once our planet, we often tend to use upon our time, big words such as ‘environmental’, somewhere not ‘ecology’ or ‘sustainability’. These far away, was The may now be part of mainstream Wild…” language for adults, yet for The Wild is children these words often remain huge, giving and elusive and abstract. So, I wanted everything from insects to approach the topic in a way that to birds to humans make their would engage and resonate with home in it. At first, people live younger readers. lightly and take only what they I decided to make a picture book need. But when they start to take depicting the environment as a more, The Wild begins to suffer. living, breathing, entity named Then, one day, a small boy is brave The Wild. The tale is written as enough to raise his voice. a modern day fable, the narrative The story carries a message of following a classic arc, beginning both urgency and hope, exploring
humanity’s relationship with nature in a parable that even emerging readers can understand and appreciate. Illustrating the book was pure joy as I was able to incorporate mountains, forests, oceans and rivers to make up the vast wild, as well as weave an assorted ensemble of wildlife and human characters into the visuals. This way, the reading experience is also a visual one, as there are many opportunities to spot new characters on each page! To my delight, the book has already been translated into several languages, as the subject matter has a universal and timely appeal. Recently, I’ve been touring communities and book festivals with The Wild, where I would often ask children to draw and imagine their own version of The Wild after I’ve presented the story. I’m hoping The Wild will be used similarly by schools as part of a discussion about protecting and respecting our planet, or as inspiration for nature art projects, as well as simply for story time. Happy reading from The Wild and me! YUVAL ZOMMER Author www.instagram.com/yuvalzommer
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