When We Went Wild

May 15, 2021
After a pair of farmers whose land is no longer productive let it go wild, both farm and wildlife flourish. This hopeful tale is based on the author's own experience, recounted for adults in Wilding (2019), of rewilding the lands around Knepp Castle, in England. Here, Nancy and Jake, an imagined interracial couple, are unhappy farmers burdened with debt for heavy equipment and chemical fertilizers and pesticides, as many farmers are. Their land is soggy and their animals, sad. Spurred by a brochure advertising safari trips to Africa, they decide to make their own wilderness. They wait--for only the length of a single spread--and, without the constant disruption of modern farming methods, the former farm sees the return of brambles, wildflowers, insects, and birds. Nightingales, migrating from Africa, return to sing. Neighbors object of course, but they are convinced of Nancy and Jake's wisdom when a flood is averted due to the land's new ability to absorb and retain stormwater. In Tee's line-and-color illustrations the sad faces of the farmers and their animals become happy; flowers and birds abound. A final spread shows a charming English village now gone wild as well, with flowers and bushes replacing sedate lawn and pavement, storks nesting on a chimney, and a bountiful display outside a produce shop. The straightforward storytelling and exuberant illustrations should work well for group read-alouds. The author's note includes photographs. Not nearly as easy as it looks--but inspiring. (Picture book. 4-8)

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June 1, 2021
Grades 1-3 The author of the adult title Wilding (2019), chronicling her natural-farming experiences, here introduces the topic for younger audiences in picture-book format. Nancy and Jake invest all they can to ensure their farm's success, but, despite using "big, expensive machines," like a cow milker, and chemicals to deter weeds and insects, nothing's thriving, neither the animals nor the crops. Then a safari-trip advertisement in the mail brings inspiration: "If we can't go to the wilderness, let's bring it here! Let's go wild!" Progressively, letting the farm develop naturally revitalizes it, including the animals, shown happily grazing lush fields. While the unkempt fields filled with wildflowers and noisy wildlife cause the neighbors to complain, after a big storm, the whole village realizes the rewards of going wild. Tee's colorful, cartoonish artwork includes abundant, charming detail, clearly demonstrating the difference in everyone's happiness before and after the change. Tree's advocacy for rewilding is evident in the clearly conveyed concepts, and while it predominantly features adults, this thought-provoking book should inspire kids, too.

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