Book Description
Publication Date:
August 30, 2011
| Age Level:
8 and up
| Grade Level:
3 and up
Prue McKeel’s life is ordinary. At least until her baby brother is abducted by a murder of crows. And then things get really weird.
You
see, on every map of Portland, Oregon, there is a big splotch of green
on the edge of the city labeled “I.W.” This stands for “Impassable
Wilderness.” No one’s ever gone in—or at least returned to tell of it.
And this is where the crows take her brother.
So
begins an adventure that will take Prue and her friend Curtis deep into
the Impassable Wilderness. There they uncover a secret world in the
midst of violent upheaval, a world full of warring creatures, peaceable
mystics, and powerful figures with the darkest intentions. And what
begins as a rescue mission becomes something much bigger as the two
friends find themselves entwined in a struggle for the very freedom of
this wilderness.
A wilderness the locals call Wildwood.
Wildwood
is a spellbinding tale full of wonder, danger, and magic that
juxtaposes the thrill of a secret world and modern city life. Original
and fresh yet steeped in classic fantasy, this is a novel that could
have only come from the imagination of Colin Meloy, celebrated for his
inventive and fantastic storytelling as the lead singer of the
Decemberists. With dozens of intricate and beautiful illustrations by
award-winning artist Carson Ellis, Wildwood is truly a new classic for the twenty-first century.
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Product DescriptionPrue McKeel’s life is
ordinary. At least until her baby brother is abducted by a murder of
crows. And then things get really weird. You see, on every map of
Portland, Oregon, there is a big splotch of green on the edge of the
city labeled “I.W.” This stands for “Impassable Wilderness.” No one’s
ever gone in—or at least returned to tell of it.
And this is where the crows take her brother.
So
begins an adventure that will take Prue and her friend Curtis deep into
the Impassable Wilderness. There they uncover a secret world in the
midst of violent upheaval, a world full of warring creatures, peaceable
mystics, and powerful figures with the darkest intentions. And what
begins as a rescue mission becomes something much bigger as the two
friends find themselves entwined in a struggle for the very freedom of
this wilderness.
A wilderness the locals call Wildwood.
Wildwood
is a spellbinding tale full of wonder, danger, and magic that
juxtaposes the thrill of a secret world and modern city life. Original
and fresh yet steeped in classic fantasy, this is a novel that could
have only come from the imagination of Colin Meloy, celebrated for his
inventive and fantastic storytelling as the lead singer of the
Decemberists. With dozens of intricate and beautiful illustrations by
award-winning artist Carson Ellis,
Wildwood is truly a new classic for the twenty-first century.
A Wildwood Playlist by Colin Meloy & Carson Ellis
"Ramble On" by Led ZeppelinColin
Meloy: I remember reading an interview with Evan Dando from the
Lemonheads right around the time the first Lord of the Rings movie came
out, bemoaning the fact that the director hadn’t included a
single Zeppelin song in the movie. I tend to agree; I mean, how rad would it’ve been after that dramatic ending in
The Return of the King,
with all its royal celebrations and slo-mo montages—the screen goes
black and those monster riffs of “Immigrant Song” kick in? Mind-blowing.
So much incredible music in the 60s and 70s was directly fueled by
mid-century fantasy fiction, something that
Wildwood owes much to; I feel it would be deeply remiss here not to include a little Zepp.
"Marching Song" by Esben and the Witch
Colin Meloy: That said, when I was deep in my preadolescent reverie of
fantasy and sci-fi, my friends and I would meet every weekend at
someone’s house to play Dungeons & Dragons. There. Confession made.
And as everyone knows, the best Dungeon Masters always partnered up
their biggest action scenarios with music. While I think it may have
been de rigueur to blast Zeppelin or Hawkwind for some folks, I
considered myself to be somewhat of a sophisticate. Joy Division was
perfect music for a slow, suspenseful crawl through a gelatinous
cube-infested grotto. The Legendary Pink Dots added an extra dimension
to a party’s first encounter with some weird, reclusive nemesis in a
castle tower. An Enchantress might appear to “Under Ice” by Kate Bush or
anything from Siouxsie’s output. When I first heard this song from
Brighton, England’s Esben and the Witch (even the name is evocative of
those days) I imagined a new generation of over-imaginative
ten-year-olds pairing their fantastical ramblings with the drowning
rains and empty plains of this song.
"Take It Easy" by Hopeton Lewis Colin
Meloy: Switching gears, here. Rocksteady, a kind of precursor to the
reggae explosion of the 70s, was a beautiful, thoughtful, random amalgam
of classic R&B and traditional Jamaican rhythms. It’s clearly the
kind of music that is birthed out of necessity; a bunch of poor kids in
the slums of Kingston figuring out for themselves how to re-create the
sounds that they were hearing over crappy radio speakers: Sam Cooke, Ben
E. King, and Sam & Dave. And what came out wasn’t
quite
the same, but beautiful and weird and extraordinary in its own right.
All this to say: I think that rocksteady music is the music of true
enjoyment, the aural equivalent of a slice of bacon, and a rocksteady
party was the kind of party I imagined Prue’s parents would throw to
celebrate Mac and Prue’s joyful return. And I’ll bet that Prue’s dad dug
deep for some Lewis sides—maybe he even had them on 45.
"Tam Lin" by Fairport ConventionColin
Meloy: My 60s Brit Folk obsession is fairly well documented, but I
thought I’d be remiss if I didn’t include an old folk song in this list.
This one, in particular, features a forbidding forest and an evil fairy
queen and a pair of star-crossed lovers. Clocking in just north of
seven minutes, it’s as immersive and complete a narrative as a song can
hope to retell.
"Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perri Carson Ellis: I love Sibylle Baier’s mournful songs and I listened to them a lot when I was working on
Wildwood,
especially during the rainy months. Portland winters can be dreary and
sometimes gloomy music is the best thing for them. This isn’t my very
favorite song of hers, but I chose it because, you know, the title.
"I Lost Something in the Hills" by Sibylle Baier
Carson Ellis: The intensity and focused passion of this song makes me
think of my darling Jack, along with the references to heaven and hell, a
favorite theme of his.
"My Lovely Elizabeth" by S.E. Rogie
Carson Ellis: Wildwood has a lot of illustrations—85 in all—and it was
hard work getting them done. Man, I love to draw but at times this
project was exhausting. At times it was downright grueling. Fortunately,
I have some remedies for this: taking a walk always helps, as does
yoga, as does S. E. Rogie.
"Katie Cruel" by Karen Dalton Carson Ellis: This is a spooky traditional song that dates back to the Revolutionary War. Like
Wildwood’s
villainess, Alexandra, Katie Cruel roams the forest and the “bogs and
mire,” jilted and in exile. This is a good song to listen to while
walking in Forest Park, the real woods that were the inspiration for
Wildwood’s
Impassable Wilderness. Or while walking in any misty, quiet forest
where beards of moss hang from the gnarled branches of dead trees and
there’s little sign of civilization. You can imagine that around any
bend you might find the solitary hut of Katie Cruel, a little curl of
smoke drifting up from its chimney and the sound of her high lonesome
banjo coming from within. I also love this song’s beautiful, totally
unhinged chorus:
Oh that I was where I would be,
Then I would be where I am not,
Here I am where I must be
Go where I would, I cannot.
"Over the Hills and Far Away" by Led Zeppelin
Carson Ellis: I’m a longtime Led Zeppelin fan and this song, in
addition to having a fitting title, was another one I loved when I was
Prue’s age. I first heard it around the time I read The Hobbit, and I
thought its medieval vagabond vibe was awesome. I’m also a sucker for a
song that starts with a pretty guitar part and then gets crazy. As an
adult I tend to like Zeppelin’s earlier, bluesier stuff better but, as a
kid, I loved the Middle Earth-ish stuff and “Over the Hills and Far
Away” was my jam.
A Look Inside Wildwood Click on the images below to open larger versions. (Art copyright © 2011 by Unadoptable Books LLC.)
Product Details
- File Size: 4140 KB
- Print Length: 576 pages
- Publisher: Balzer + Bray (August 30, 2011)
- Language: English
- ASIN: B004QWZC9W
- Text-to-Speech:
Enabled
-
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
-
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#11,865 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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