Picture Book Review: Into the Wild written by Robert Vescio, illustrated by Mel Armstrong

Illustrated by Mel Armstrong, Published by New Frontier Publishing UK

Into the Wild written by Robert Vescio and illustrated by Mel Armstrong is an absolutely joyful book to share with young children as it follows the adventurous wanderings of a young boy named Roman. It celebrates the wonder of nature and the comfort of finding someone special to share your precious moments with.

The illustrations by Mel Armstrong are beautifully rendered in all the vibrant colours of nature. The expressions on the young protagonist’s face completely capture the absorption displayed by children as they witness the marvels of the natural world.

This book is beautifully designed, with some pages having multiple illustrated panels, encouraging your eyes to naturally follow Roman on his expeditions through the woods, fields and shoreline surrounding his house. The minimal text by Robert Vescio is very simple, often just a few words per double page spread and in my opinion they are in poetic harmony with the pictures, projecting the story whilst leaving plenty of space for discussion between adult and child readers.

As we progress through Roman’s journey of discovery, we glimpse the tantalising fluttering colours of something just to the edge of his vision and when Roman finally discovers the owner of the coloured scarf we share his joy at finding a soulmate with whom he can share nature’s treasures.

This is an utterly beautiful book which I would highly recommend for sharing with any child from the age of 2 to 6. Not only are the text and illustrations completely absorbing, it is one of those picture books which will stimulate hours and hours of conversation and inspiration to get outside and investigate the plants, insects, birds and animals to be found wherever you live. It is so important for younger children to have access to books which will help them build the hinterland of vocabulary and knowledge needed for learning and I strongly encourage you to add Into the Wild to your bookshelf or library collection.

You can find teaching notes and activity sheets linked to Into the Wild here.

I am most grateful to New Frontier Publishing for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

If you wish to explore other books by this author and illustrator you can read my reviews of Under the Same Sky by Robert Vescio here and A Home for Luna illustrated by Mel Armstrong here.

Review: The Strangeworlds Travel Agency by L.D. Lapinski

I had seen a lot of praise for this book on Twitter and was delighted to be approved by NetGalley and Hachette Children’s for an eARC to review.

Without delay, I have to say that I loved L.D. Lapinski’s world-building, protagonists and ability to combine an important message within a fast-paced contemporary fantasy for MG readers (thanks to blogger Lily Fae for the genre description).

The two main protagonists, Jonathan and Flick, are fully realised characters who fully engage your interest and sympathy from the moment you meet them. The progression of their relationship throughout the arc of the story is entirely believable and emotionally involving. Both characters are old before their time, with the weight of responsibility on their young shoulders. Jonathan, an eighteen year-old who dresses like a Victorian has been left as the sole custodian of The Strangeworlds Travel Agency since the death of his mother and the disappearance of his father. He is lonely, bewildered and mourning the loss of family. Meanwhile, Flick has been the archetypal latch-key-kid on an inner city housing estate whilst both parents worked long hours to keep the family afloat. The arrival of a baby brother, Freddy and a move to a house in the village of Little Wyverns has made Flick feel even more alienated and resentful that she has to take responsibility for many household chores.

Flick longs to travel and when she stumbles into the shabby, old-fashioned Strangeworlds Travel Agency with its curiously stacked multitude of suitcases, her dreams come true, albeit in an unexpected fashion! Once she overcomes Jonathan’s passive-aggressive sarcasm and proves her previously undiscovered magical abilities she joins him on a quest to discover the whereabouts of Daniel Mercator, his missing father.

From the moment that Flick takes a leap of faith into one of the suitcases in which Jonathan’s great-great-great-grandmother Elara trapped magical schisms between worlds in the Multiverse, the adventure takes off. Each suitcase has an individual destination and the author’s imagination conjures deserted beaches where you can taste the salty air; a forest world populated with forever-children; Coral City with its candy coloured landscape and extraordinary gravity, and the multiversal hub, the fragile City of Five Lights.

I don’t want to give away any plot spoilers, but the tension ratchets up as the plot races to its conclusion, with valuable messages about the devastating impact on a world greedily exploiting its irreplaceable resources, and the power of “ resolve, wrapped in righteous ferocity and fear “ to achieve the seemingly impossible. I loved the way that the story ended on a cliff-hanger, and cannot wait to read the next instalment.

I will certainly be adding this book to my library shopping list when it is published in April, when I am sure it is going to be extremely popular with fans of Harry Potter, The Train to Impossible Places, Rumblestar and The Cosmic Atlas of Alfie Fleet.

Perfect and Timely Picture Books

Little Puggle’s Song written by Vikki Conley and illustrated by Hélène Magisson

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I am ashamed to say that I have had this picture book in my reviewing stack for rather a long time and was prompted to retrieve it by the recent heart-breaking reports of the devastation wreaked by the bush fires in Australia. It goes without saying that I have immense sympathy for all of the people affected, but it is also very upsetting to see so much of the unique flora and fauna of Australia destroyed so rapidly and in such quantity.

This story of one little echidna’s determination to follow his dreams becomes all the more poignant in the light of such a background. Vikki Conley has written a wonderfully gentle tale of Puggle’s desire to sing like all the other animals. This shy little creature is desperate to join the animal choir to sing for the arrival of the emu chicks. He watches in wonder as animals and birds rehearse for their performance; bluebirds, doves, cockatoos, kangaroos and koalas all conducted by the kookaburra known as Brown Feather. He summons the courage to ask for a place in the choir, but he does not have the ability to make a sound. However, when Brown Feather becomes ill at the last moment, Little Puggle’s dedication might just pay off!

Throughout this story the beautiful artwork of Hélène Magisson imbues the story with life and energy. Native flora and fauna are painted in subdued, earthy tones and will provide hours of wonder as they are explored. A gorgeous tale of the importance of following your heart, for young readers and a reminder for us all of the beauty and fragility of the natural world.

Under the Same Sky written by Robert Vescio, illustrated by Nicky Johnston

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Another poignant picture book, with very few carefully constructed sentences by the author Robert Vescio, comparing and contrasting the lives of two children as they endeavour to build a friendship from opposite sides of the world. The astonishing artwork, by Nicky Johnston, in muted watercolour tones cleverly highlights the very different environments in which the two children live. One is clearly in an affluent society while the other child appears to be in a barren place, with barbed wire possibly hinting at a conflict zone. The determination to find a way of communication, and send a message of hope is portrayed with such sensitivity that I am sure this book will provoke deep conversations about cultural differences and long-distance friendships.

I am most grateful to New Frontier Publishing for sending me copies of these picture books in return for an honest review.