The Wild
Yuval Zommer
Oxford Children’s Books

There is a line in a Native American poem where the author asks the Great Spirit of Life to give him the wisdom “to walk softly on the earth”.  This ancient metaphor recognises our human responsibility to take care of the natural environment on which we live and depend for our existence. So it was in the Wild at the start of Yuval’s new fable of our times. The Wild here was a vast place, a place where season followed season and the animals responded to the changes, either by moving or by being still and sleeping. Every living being, be they human, or creatures furred or feathered had all they needed: they lived lightly in the Wild, caring for it and receiving its care in return.

But those humans envisaged that the Wild would always be able to provide what they needed so with the passing years, they became increasingly careless, taking too much as they mined, ploughed, burned and built. They paid no heed to the devastation their actions caused until one day a child looks out of the window and notices a change. “Why does the Wild seem so weak?” he asks but his question goes unheeded. The child continues to worry and question but to no avail until eventually the Wild is unable to give.
Now it’s time for the boy to speak louder and without fear. And so he does: “STOP!’ he cries, “We are hurting the wild.”

Finally others hear his urgent call and they too take up the cry. Not only do they call, but they also change their behaviour. Little by little, with renewed hope , the Wild begins to recover because no human took without also giving something back.

Yuval’s message is also delivered with stark urgency and his collage like illustrations are full of superb textures and details in the realistic, rich colours of the natural world.
A must to read, share, discuss and act upon.