This delightful book isn’t easy to categorise. Written and illustrated by a Husband and Wife team this surreal, fairytale-like story is full of adventure and excitement – beginning with the abduction of a one year old, twenty five pound, baby boy abducted by a flock of crows! Wildwood is a spellbinding tale full of wonder, danger and magic. It combines the thrill of a secret world and the buzz of modern city life. Original and fresh, yet steeped in classic fantasy, this is a novel that could have only come from the imagination of Colin Meloy, celebrated for his inventive and fantastic storytelling as the lead singer and songwriter of The Decemberists. With dozens of intricate and beautiful illustrations by award-winning artist Carson Ellis. Strangely brilliant and possibly a ‘modern classic’.
You can find out more about this book by clicking here.
Prue McKeel's life is ordinary. At least until her baby brother is abducted by a murder of crows. And then things get really weird. You see, on every map of Portland, Oregon, there is a big splotch of green on the edge of the city labeled 'I.W.' This stands for 'Impassable Wilderness.' No one's ever gone in-or at least returned to tell of it. And this is where the crows take her brother. So begins an adventure that will take Prue and her friend Curtis deep into the Impassable Wilderness. There they uncover a secret world in the midst of violent upheaval, a world full of warring creatures, peaceable mystics, and powerful figures with the darkest intentions. And what begins as a rescue mission becomes something much bigger as the two friends find themselves entwined in a struggle for the very freedom of this wilderness. A wilderness the locals call Wildwood. Wildwood is a spellbinding tale full of wonder, danger, and magic that juxtaposes the thrill of a secret world and modern city life. Original and fresh yet steeped in classic fantasy, this is a novel that could have only come from the imagination of Colin Meloy, celebrated for his inventive and fantastic storytelling as the lead singer of the Decemberists. With dozens of intricate and beautiful illustrations by award-winning artist Carson Ellis, Wildwood is truly a new classic for the twenty-first century.
'This book is like the wild, strange forest it describes. It is full of suspense and danger and frightening things the world has never seen, and once I stepped inside I never wanted to leave' - Lemony Snicket, author of A Series of Unfortunate Events
‘A beautiful object and a beautiful read. One half fairy tale, one half coming-of-age story, one half unrepentantly gorgeous work of art, this book is overflowing with gifts’ - Jonathan Safran Foer
‘An irresistible, atmospheric adventure - richly imagined and richly rewarding’ - Trenton Lee Stewart, author of The Mysterious Benedict Society series
‘Dark and whimsical, with a true and uncanny sense of otherworldliness, Wildwood is the heir to a great tradition of stories of wild childhood adventure. It snatched me up and carried me off into a world I didn't want to leave’ - Michael Chabon
‘Meloy creates a fully realized fantasy world…. Ellis’s illustrations perfectly capture the original world and contribute to the feel of an instant timeless classic. Further adventures in Wildwood cannot come quickly enough.’ – School Library Journal (starred review)
Hinnie Broom, age 10 'I found the book hardgoing at first but then it got easier. My favourite character was Prue because she didn't go home when things turned bad. My favourite bit was when everyone got home safely.'
Author
About Colin Meloy
Colin Meloy once wrote Ray Bradbury a letter, informing him that he 'considered himself an author too'. He was ten. Since then, Colin has gone on to be the singer and songwriter for the band The Decemberists, where he channels all of his weird ideas into weird songs. This is his first time channelling those ideas into a novel.
As a child, his wife Carson Ellis loved exploring the woods, drawing and nursing wounded animals back to health. As an adult, little has changed - except she is now the acclaimed illustrator of several books for children, including Lemony Snicket's The Composer is Dead, Dillweed's Revenge by Florence Parry Heide, and The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart.
Colin and Carson live with their son, Hank, in Portland, Oregon, USA, quite near the Impassable Wilderness. They talk about Wildwood, their inspirations and creative process in this video:
