David Elliott's witty brief poems about wild animals and Holly Meade's striking reverse-print artwork are a stunning combination. In the Wild is a book to read over and over, marvelling at the jewel-toned art each time. (See more of Meade's striking art on her website.)
Elliott's playfulness with language is irresistible: "The Giraffe / Stilt-walker! / Tree-topper! / Long-necked / show-stopper!" Then there's the rhyming of going, going, going with boing, boing, boing in the kangaroo poem. It is so much fun! The polar bear poem makes excellent use of a page turn and I also love the double meaning that can be derived from the line "Look! She's / disappearing ... [page turn] / disappearing / in the snow." The tiger poem references William Blake - "fire, fire burning bright" - and so I would love to pair this book with one that contains "Tyger! Tyger! burning bright," such as Micheal Rosen's selection of Classic Poetry for children.
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