I was hanging out in a vehicle, waiting for the driver to come out of the grocery store. I had a few books with me and decided to pick the biggest one up (well, longest physically/horizontally) as the sun was hitting me right in the eyes and thought maybe it would block things. It mostly did, as it was (as I said) horizontal and not the usual vertical style. And what this book turned into was not just a poor woman’s sunshade, but one of my best reads so far of 2024.
Kengo Kurimoto’s Wildful in theory is a simple story. However it has many ins and outs and twists and turns and is actually quite complex. The artwork is unusual in the sense that color is not really used, but nonetheless extremely powerful. I would say it is a form of sepia, but that does not do it justice. The details are fantastic (perhaps my favorite part is when the abandoned truck watches our main character walk away from it in its own side mirror). This color choice and the busy details sets the tone to be both exciting, fresh, spooky, calm, enchanting, and a bit musty (growing up in wooded areas that also had ponds/rivers you learn to whiff the funk even in images).
In many ways this is not for kids, but for adults, and yet it is really for all ages. The idea is to stop, think, look, be quiet, observe, get down and dirty with the nature around you. In mostly wordless panels and pages, we follow Poppy and her dog Pepper, as they explore the hidden forest, their own neighborhood and make a new friend along the way. This friend will introduce them to the magic of what is around them, how to be still and see it all, and Poppy will help them connect with nature in her own special way, and maybe help her mother who is grieving over the death of Poppy’s grandmother as well.
As I located another book by this author, with a similar cover, I am going to assume that this book was previously published as Book of Beasts.