The primary age range varies from one education system to another, with some children beginning at age five in some countries and at age seven in others, and some children finishing at age 10/11 in some countries and at age 13/14 in others. The average age is 6–11 years. In this beautiful picture book by Hawaiian artist Emily Hughes, we meet a little girl who has known nothing but nature from birth—she was taught to talk by birds, to eat by bears, and to play by foxes. She is unashamedly, irrefutably, irrepressibly wild. That is, until she is snared by some very strange animals that look oddly like her, but they don't talk right, eat right, or play correctly. She's puzzled by their behavior and their insistence on living in these strange concrete structures: there's no green here, no animals, no trees, no rivers. Now she lives in the comfort of civilization. But will civilization get comfortable with her? If brains all looked different and were decorated to reflect the person that owned them, what would yours look like? Emily Hughes is an author and illustrator who grew up in Hawaii, and now lives and works in the United Kingdom. Her artwork has been widely exhibited and her picturebooks have received international recognition. In 2015, Emily was chosen to represent the UK in the prestigious Biennial of Illustration Bratislava (BIB).

Wild is the story of a little girl who was born into nature and has absorbed everything it has to offer. She plays with bears and foxes, eats among them and speaks with the birds of the forest. One day, she meets another form of creature who looks exactly like her. She leaves her home and despite being expected to adapt to her new reality, she craves the environment she knows best. In her debut picture book, Hughes brings an uncanny humor to her painterly illustrations. Her work is awash with color, atmosphere, and a stunning visual splendor that will enchant children while indulging their wilder tendencies. Wild is a twenty-first-century answer to Maurice Sendak's children's classic—it has the same inventiveness, groundbreaking art, and unmissable quirkiness. The story notes for Wild are aimed at children of primary school age*. However, picture books operate on many levels, satisfying children of different ages and with different language abilities, so it is difficult to be specific about age-level suitability. A picture book can be used as a springboard for a wide variety of related language and learning activities. You know your children best, so the suggestions in the story notes are for you to select from and to adapt accordingly. In Emily Hughes’ beautiful picture book we meet a little girl who has known nothing but nature from birth – she was taught to talk by birds, to eat by bears and to play by foxes – she is unashamedly, irrefutably, irrepressibly wild. One day, two creatures who look an awful lot like her, only bigger, appear out of nowhere, put her in the belly of their metal beast, and hurl her into a wholly different new life — a civilized one.This unnamed girl lives outdoors and has been raised by the forest community: crows who talk and squabble with her, bears who teach her how to fish for her supper, and foxes who nip, play and encourage her strength. There are no other requirements to live this lifestyle; she can communicate, empathise and understand this hodgepodge family, and she lives a life that is unclouded and understood. Learn how to draw some of Emily Hughes cutest wild animals with her step by step activity sheets! Work your way up from a crow and then you’ll be going pro with the fox in no time✨ The outdoor scenes were more natural for me to do; lots of greens and browns (brown being my favourite colour; maybe it’s obvious throughout my work). Her work is awash with colour, atmosphere, and a stunning visual splendour that will enchant children while indulging their wilder tendencies. Wild is a twenty-first-century answer to Maurice Sendak's children's classic--it has the same inventiveness, groundbreaking art, and unmissable quirkiness.

You will need a copy of the picture book. Study the picture book and the story notes carefully and decide which key vocabulary you may need to pre-teach before you read the story aloud, but only pre-teach vocabulary that may be difficult for children to work out the meaning of themselves. The story notes are divided into three stages, before reading, reading the story, and after reading. Decide how long you will spend on each stage, depending on your time available and your children's interests and language abilities. The main linguistic and learning aims are indicated in the attached document Scope and sequence. In this post, Emily talks about the creation of ‘Wild’. This boldly illustrated, beautifully produced picturebook was one of the first releases from Flying Eye Books in the UK. It’s since been published in many other languages including Spanish, French and Italian. Off in the big city, a somewhat well-meaning but rather dictatorial elderly couple sets out to de-wild her. “FAMED PSYCHIATRIST TAKES IN FERAL CHILD,” a newspaper headline proclaims.The problem with copying is that you might not have to think as hard about what you are doing, but you will never be as good as the person. They are always going to be better at being themselves and you are always going to be the best at being you. Emily Hughes is an incredibly talented illustrator. The artwork in this book is bold, unique and truly, truly stunning. It is such innovative work and I cannot help but be mesmerized by it. On top of that, this story is so beautiful! My husband and our little family are such fans of nature and the outdoors and the story of this girl and her wild ways is both exciting and heartwarming. Emily:‘Wild’ is a story about a feral girl. Or it’s about people who have a hard time fitting into societal expectations. Are you missing the outdoors? Bursting to go outside? Then come join the creator of the book Wild, Emily Hughes and the little girl who has known nothing but nature from birth.

I started with a little dummy book. I usually use an A5 sketchbook and try to make little vignette images to encapsulate an idea. As I usually work with one image and one line of text at a time, I have to be very thoughtful and ruthless at this point of editing. Having few words and little space for images to get the story across is a challenge, but it helps me to better define the story. If I cannot tell the narrative within this dummy book, there are reparations that need to be made – and with ‘Wild’ there were plenty!

One day, man enters the forest and takes the girl away, believing it isn’t right for a human to be alone – for a human to be living harmoniously amongst the trees, hills and animals – for a human to be ‘wild’.

What is the best smell? What is the best taste? What is the best colour? What is the best thing you have seen? What was the most fun activity? Who was the best person? What was the best sound? What it the best song? What was the best thing to feel? When did you feel the best? Try and copy everything someone else does. Copy what they say, how they act, what they do. Then swap. Have a contest as to who can be the most like the other person.

This is a story of nature versus nurture, which can be used to support personal, social and emotional development. The story sparks lots of book talk opportunities and raises many thought-provoking questions from children. The little girl had friends around her in the forest who helped her be herself. Who are your friends that help you be yourself? Make something that shows how your friends help you. The story opens with a joyful and carefree little girl native to the woods, raised by the creatures of the whole forest. She is boundlessly, ebulliently wild, and wholly unashamed of her wildness. That is, until she is snared by some very strange animals that look oddly like her, but they don’t talk right, eat right, or play correctly. She’s puzzled by their behaviour and their insistence to live in these strange concrete structures known as ‘apartments’. There’s no green here, no animals, no trees, no rivers. Now she lives in the comfort of civilisation. But will civilisation get comfortable with her? Oh, they’ll tag this as an eco-centric morality tale, I’m sure. Wild/nature = good, civilization/standardization = bad. That sort of thing. Honestly, I think it has a lot more to say about the inner life of a young child than any overt messagey message about Mother Earth. But there aren’t any rules governing how you use a book, so go on! Use it to talk to kids about nature and the outdoors. Use it to talk about acceptable and non-acceptable behavior and when those rules break down. Use it to discuss tropes most common in European vs. American books, or what makes this book a stand out in its field. Talk about it any old way you like, but make sure you talk about it. A surprisingly lovely little piece that bears similarities to hundreds of pictures books out there, but isn’t really like a single one. One of a kind.