Absolutely devoured this book once I started as I was desperate to find out wh Rhodd was and where she had come from. People in the village are fearful because there is a sickness spreading through the village and through all the plants. Rhodd knows it is linked to the river and the marsh and has to confront who she is and where she has come from in order to save the village. A gripping story with many messages we can take about the destruction of nature and ecosystems in the name of progress or building.

Wilder
By Penny Chrimes
Published by Hachette Children's Group

When a child emerges from the wilderness, no one in the village knows what to do with her. She is different, wild and has a mysterious bond with nature and animals, especially the falcon, who watches over her, circling to protect.
'The child - if child it was - came out of the wild-ness. It came out of the sparse bleak marsh where few dared go and none came back.’
But it is ‘Ma’ who takes her in, names her Rhodd & brings her up as her own while the rest of the villagers remain suspicious, as more children go missing.

This beautifully written tale, tells of the struggles of nature when trapped by the greed of mankind. Author Penny Chrimes, works her magic through her chosen words, beautiful imagery and heartfelt emotion.

But it is Rhodd’s relationship with herself, her best friend Gar and her ‘Ma’ that tests the main characters strength, commitment and her decisions to save the villagers.

As the village and its surroundings begin to die, a dark sickness spreads and it is left to Rhodd and her falcon to uncover the real reason behind the pain.

Stunningly written, poignantly read, along a mysterious and dangerous journey.

Joanne Bardgett - teacher of littlies, lover of Children’s literature.

#Netgallery
#PennyChrimes

For ages 9+. Manuel Šumberac's illustration on the cover artwork really caught my eye when I was deciding what to read next for my February book reviews. The cover (although I only had a digital advanced reading copy) features a palette of vibrant blues, greens and yellows; and a character standing in the countryside by a small waterway, the wind blowing with birds of prey circling ahead. (1) I love a nature story (2) this looked like it could be packed with mystery with a touch of magic (3) I love birds (4) it's Penny Chrimes for goodness sake! During the first COVID-19 lockdown I set up a YouTube channel called @moonlanetv aiming to transmit children's authors, illustrators and their latest creative works into people's living rooms, classrooms or other shared spaces, through draw-alongs or readings and activities - for free. 'Wilder' author, Penny Chrimes recorded an amazing programme for her book 'The Dragon Boy' in 2021. The impressive level of research that Chrimes’s undertook was reflected in the video as she shared historical anecdote after anecdote together with olde English phrases and words. If you're interested here's the direct link: https://youtu.be/ZqEtWYpPFVI - but first do find out about Chrimes's new enchanting and powerful new middle grade, 'Wilder', because, I just knew instantly that 'Wilder' was going to be an unmissable read... and I was right!! About the book 'Wilder' is set in a British water-side village, perhaps 150-200 years ago, telling by the landowning gentry, clothing worn, lack of industry, Christian superstitiousness of traditional ways. The story begins with the discovery of a lonely child appearing one day at the edge of the marsh, merely a toddler when found by the villagers. However, this child is different in appearance to any child they have ever encountered before: her legs scarred and marked with swirling patterns - lashings and stings, she makes sounds in a strange tongue - more like sounds of a wild animal or bird; has a "shock of yellow-white hair" and two huge black eyes with yellow eyelids/rims and dark lashes; and sharp little teeth. Fortunately, she is adopted by the village's local Wise Woman whose own young son, not so long before, had mysteriously disappeared on the marshes. She names the little foundling creature, Rhodd (pronounced Roth). The reader soon comes to know that Rhodd has a mystical ability to transfer her consciousness into the mind of any living creature, whether a sparrow, a rabbit, an otter, the old dog, or even her friendly falcon. Once she has interpreted the creature’s “mind-shapes”, its language, she can then see through its eyes and feel what it feels. Tremendously useful when escaping the local bullies or the magnanimous villain of a land owner - Lord Stanley. Rhodd comes to learn that young children have been disappearing once a year on a full moon, into the marsh, never to return. If this isn't tragic a mystery enough, the river has gradually disappeared into the marsh, taking with it all the regular trade at its port, and thus taking the livelihoods of the locals and leaving them terribly poor and struggling to survive. There seems to be an ever increasing pressure on Rhodd from her falcon to return to the marsh, but why, and why does Rhodd fear this going to any length to avoid her fate? Once a strange sickness starts to sweep through the village, Ma and Rhodd surmise that the enlarged marshland is effecting the health of the natural habitat and in turn making the local human population so unwell, they cannot cure their loved ones, and sadly, deaths start to add up. Most of the villagers have a strong Christian faith mixed with a very strong sense of superstition against the old ways. Rhodd’s Ma, having taken in this strange fledgling-like child, comes up against locals who many fear Rhodd’s true origin and purpose, making their little family and Garr's outcasts and vulnerable. On more than one occasion signs against “witch-evil” are made towards them, a very dangerous time to be accused of being a witch. Did Rhodd's arrival bring about this plague-type event? 'Wilder' is an entrancing story told in two parts. The first being life for Rhodd and her best friend, Gar, in the village - school, outwitting local bullies, the daily struggle to gather food to eat and take care of the wildlife around them, the strain of living on land owned by a tyrannical Lord and the marshland becoming more and more deadly by the day, Rhodd fighting against a familiar but confusing voice in her head. Part two of the story is a pacy and dramatic enactment of Rhodd’s return to her true self, wild and free, at one with nature, as she fulfils her destiny to find the river, the true fate of the children who disappeared, and save the lives of all she knows and loves. There’s a beautiful ending infused with just a touch of pathos. Reading stories like this, having grown up mostly in England and Scotland, being someone who loves nature and our beautiful landscapes across the UK, I do really feel reconnected to our land and its past inhabitants through the experiences of these earthy characters. It’s really not that long ago that life was balanced on a knife edge in this country, and a slight change in the climate or the ecosystem could mean that a whole community could be wiped out by a failed crop, disease or starvation. I always find the juxtaposition of religion and folklore fascinating and really enjoy reading books where the authors have taken such care to research the social impacts of these clashes in belief systems. The author has visited one my local nature reserves during the writing process for 'Wilder' - Elmley Nature Reserve - if you ever get the chance to stay there or visit for a day, it’s really awe-inspiring and the bird watching is amazing. Penny Chrimes has an author event there this coming weekend, that if I wasn’t out the country, I’d have loved to have attended myself. Just to add here aswell, I absolutely love the inclusion within the story of real life legendary British Princess, Hafren, daughter of King Locrin, who was drowned in the River Severn in the early 12th century. I hadn’t heard of this character from our past before! Where this is a story of victory over bullies (child or adult) and the negative impact they have on the environment, this is also the championing of children who are different, who bring with them their own unique gifts and purposes, and sometimes it might cost them their lives. A touching story that achieves the delicate balance between sacrifice, loss, and an appreciation for life entwined in the presence of nature in any given moment. The special bond between humans and other living creatures is celebrated and revered through Chrimes's storytelling. Manuel Šumberac's illustrations within the story are sympathetic to Rhodd’s character and energy, and the adventures she and Gar go on together. Šumberac, also illustrated the incredible 'Orphans of the Tide' trilogy by Struan Murray that I loved... thus a great pairing with Penny Chrimes for this latest middle grade.

Nobody knew where she came from, but the Wise-Woman was the only person brave enough to take the girl she named ‘Rhodd’ into her home. As Rhodd grows the river dies and the sickness spreads. The villagers blame the one person who is different. Rhodd sets off into the wilderness to discover the truth. This is a beautifully crafted story. I loved the fiery spirit of Rhodd, her bravery and connection with nature. This put me in the mind of ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ with the attention to nature and life on the marsh. I didn’t want it to end.

What can I Say, An Absolute Classic & A potential Award-Winner.
(Thanks to net Galley for this book).

Here in this small, one-street village, a girl is found naked trundling off the marsh. It's the marsh that's killed the village, for it used to be a coastal fishing port, yet the estuary has moved in with a vengeance and blocked off all access to the sea. It's the marsh that still to this day seems to take a tithe in the shape of a child's life. But here is this girl, rescued by an outcast woman, Cerys, and dubbed Rhodd (one tooth away from 'wrath' but meaning something very different). Rhodd is very different, too, for she can telepathically link up with any animal, communicate mentally with it and see the world through their eyes. But the feeling is that Rhodd, scarred by long-forgotten troubles before her arrival, will be destined to right a lot of wrongs in life, starting with a return to the marsh to discover the source of a lot of those quite evil problems.

This proves to be a completely entertaining read, with a powerful drive – and that's before you consider the ecological moral or anything else you feel that you're reading. The unearthly Rhodd and her connection to nature and the marsh makes her an instantly interesting character, and she's portrayed with such immediacy it's almost as if we and she have the mental connection. And then – then, beyond that, we have something mystical, magical and mythical. And it's this that helps the book swoop perfectly up from the mundane, learning-her-ABCs girl into what the whole shebang proves to be about. That narrative drive, that scope, that heart – it's nigh-on unbelievable. Short chapters help the pages turn, but the fact remains this is one of the most hard-to-resist dramas, bearing an outstanding grip on the reader until it finally shows the last of its secrets. Rhodd actually means gift. And boy wasn't this a gift.