Into The Wild
Thomas Docherty
Oxford Children’s Books

As night falls a small boy gives full rein to his imagination.

Joe lives in a city flat where, so he thinks, there isn’t any wild. However as he looks out from his bedroom window, he quickly realises that there is a whole lot more than he first thought. Then some of the outside starts coming into his very own room and this leads him to venture out into the wild city. By careful, close looking he discovers wildlife up in the branches of the trees, between the cracks in the pavement and hiding away beneath the bushes. Moreover, the more Joe looks, the more the wild proliferates

and eventually it’s everywhere, stunning in its beauty and full of surprises but most importantly, it is home to everything and every one, very precious and needs to be treated as such.

The wild has assuredly invaded Joe’s mind and his dreams, but not only that, it’s in his heart too.

Richly imagined too are Thomas Docherty’s illustrations for this magical story. Young children (and adults) will love poring over the multitude of gently humorous details in every scene.

The final page invites readers to go outside and search for the wild things in their own city or town; let’s hope they take up the challenge.