Quick Look
- A stunning new picture book from the award-winning creator of The Night Walk, a 2021 New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book
- A quirky and surreal picture book that's full of heart, wittily drawn characters and larger-than life situations, all wrapped up in an inspiring message
- A tightly controlled family go on an emotional journey to embrace wildness and freedom of expression
- Illustrations transform from near-monochrome to vibrant colour: straight-lines and grey tones are overtaken by blooming flowers and verdant greenery
- A story about the power of nature, acceptance of what we can't change, preserving wilderness and family togetherness
- Printed on FSC paper with plant-based inks
A fastidious family learn to embrace wildness when their garden grows out of control. A quirky, visually stunning picture book about letting go and the power of nature, from the creator of The Night Walk.
Description
The Prickletrim family are very proud of their pristine garden, with its razor-straight edges, regulation-height lawn and perfectly shaped topiary. They LOVE nature -- just so long as it is well ordered and properly managed. Then one day their long-suffering gardener quits and something extraordinary happens.
Free at last, the Prickletrim's garden explodes upwards and outwards. As the garden invades every corner of their lives, the Prickletrims are forced to change. Can they GO WILD?
The Prickletrims Go Wild is a playful yet profound celebration of untamed nature, with beautiful, startling illustrations that burst across the page. Quirky imagination and gentle humour weave their way through this delightfully distinctive picture book from Marie Dorléans, award-winning creator of 2021 New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book The Night Walk.
Reviews
'Dorleans employs longer descriptions in the beginning; she trims the text as the visuals dominate, effectively conveying life at either extreme - the rigidity of micro-management and the over-stimulation of chaos… A clarion call to take time to smell the flowers - and to let yourself and your garden go a little wild.'
-- Kirkus Reviews
'Broad comedy pokes fun at those trying to exercise control over untamable forces, while spreads remind readers of the magnificence of nature left to its own devices.'
-- Publishers Weekly
'Dorléans has found another way to use a picture book to promote the counterintuitive coziness of the great outdoors... Glorious.'
-- Shelf Awareness
'Quirky characters and an amusing story. This was thoroughly enjoyable, as were the fabulous illustrations, which cleverly changed with the story.'
-- Peters, Book of the Week
'A quirky and funny picture book. The gorgeous hand-drawn multi-media artwork using a graphite pencil and finished using digital media go from lines and patterns in grey hues to a wonderful vibrancy as the garden explodes into colour.'
-- Our World In Wonder
'I love this book’s personality: it's exploding with imagination and originality, just like the garden at its center.'
-- Three Lives and Company
'The transformation of the Prickletrims' controlled environment into a wild one reminds us of the resilience and beauty of nature while revealing a metaphor for the human capacity to embrace change and find joy in unpredictability. This is a book that encourages readers to find the magic in letting go and perhaps will inspire children to form a new appreciation for the wildness on their doorstep.'
-- StorybookMamma (Instagram)
'A fun romp with nature.'
-- PicturebookPile (Instagram)
'Brilliant and beautiful... For anyone studying plants, pshe about perfectionism or even looking at work and jobs, this book would be a brilliant read.'
-- ThePictureBookProfessor (Instagram)
'A playful celebration of nature and wilderness with STUNNING artwork - very unique and distinctive.'
-- TheKidsBookstagrammer (Instagram)
'This has been one of my most favourite books to read for Earth Month. It's a brilliant story to read all year round, in fact, or to add to any summer or garden collection.'
-- KidsCornerBookClub (Instagram)
'Love the celebration of untamed nature, the growing and changing of ideas, and the funny style of this one!'
-- LittleReadersFutureLeaders (Instagram)
'This book is beautifully written, and the illustrations really make you think about the life of the Prickletrim family and their way of embracing nature.'
-- OurWorldOfWonder (Instagram)
'An adorable picture book about a family that celebrates nature.'
-- NetGalley Reviewer
'I love the illustrations.'
-- KidsReadTheWorld (Instagram)
'Can't help but make you laugh.'
-- FunReadsForKids (Instagram)
'This inviting and innovative story is full of delights on each and every spread... Full of concise geometric patterns at the start before bursting with the colours and textures of nature.'
-- OliviaTheLibrarian (Instagram)
Praise for The Night Walk:
'Awash in nocturnal blue, Dorléans's graphite pencil illustrations of a family of nighttime explorers evoke a luminous sense of wonder.'
-- Jessica Agudelo, New York Times
'Narrated by one of the children, the prose shines with sensory acuity as the family leaves a village behind them with a particular location in mind. Navy washes overlay graphite pencil and digital illustrations, with fine-lined detail so startlingly observed that readers will feel immersed in each expansive spread.'
-- Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
'The poetic, evocative text immerses readers in a nocturnal world… This hushed, intimate picture book creates a respite from the demands of the daytime world and pulls readers into a moment of pure wonder and peace.'
-- The Horn Book Magazine, Starred Review
'Beautifully composed and often striking… This rewarding picture book invites children to experience a memorable encounter with the natural world.'
-- Booklist, Starred Review
'Watercolor and graphite pencil illustrations depict an enveloping nocturnal world through saturations of indigo. Young readers' hearts will quicken, feeling embraced by night made real with breathtaking, full-bleed washes of blue that stretch across double-page spreads… Urgency, exhilaration, and anticipation make the walk's conclusion, a luminous, lemony daybreak, all the more powerful.'
-- Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
Author
Marie Dorléans is an award-winning children’s author and illustrator from France. Her picture book The Night Walk won the prestigious Landerneau Children’s Book Prize in 2019 and was named a New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children's Book in 2021. She currently lives in Strasbourg, France.
