A Way With Wild Things is much more than a garden book

A Way With Wild Things is not a children’s illustrated book that’s specifically for spring. It may seem that way, what with the countless flowers, insects, animals and overall happiness. Instead, the book gives the kids who don’t seek the spotlight their time in the limelight, even if they don’t think that they deserve it.  It does this with a combination of seek-and-find, a child’s natural curiosity and her grandmother’s 100^th birthday. How does a girl who is usually more comfortable act when there’s a giant party happening in the park?

Our main character is Poppy Ann Fields, a child who was born to love nature if ever there was one. She’s happiest when nature’s patterns are front and center in her life. When seated in the garden the ladybug feels like her friend and she’s observant to the otherwise mundane things happening in nature around her. Poppy notices the spider’s web for the perfect art and mathematical sequence that it is.

Similarly, when there are social functions she manages to blend just perfectly into the background. This is the seek-and-find aspect of the book comes in. This is not a Where’s Waldo type book by any estimation, but there are a couple fun pages where she blends in with the weather, the carpet or other areas.

When it comes to big family events there are much fewer places to hide. Some kids enjoy large gatherings and others simply tolerate them. Poppy is aware of the family fun, but she equates it more to a metaphor in nature. That is, until she spies a dragonfly who has landed on the cake at almost the same time that her uncle playfully calls her a wallflower when he sees her.  

It’s then that everyone in the party notices Poppy because the dragonfly flies off of the cake and immediately lands in her hands. It was almost like Poppy knew the dragonfly on a first name basis. As everyone at the party closes in around Poppy and Grandma Phyllis they become the trees and wildlife that Poppy often tries to blend in with. The tables have turned and now she’s frozen. Stuck in the same spot with fear she retreats to her mental happy place where she thinks about insects.  

After what must seem like an eternity to her, she responds with the scientific name to a dragonfly and correctly tells everyone in attendance. It’s then that her grandmother identifies her as a wildflower, because her leaves and wings are strong. They don’t wilt.

Readers will leave the book with a sense of power in who they are. Lots of book put forth the message to be comfortable in your own skin, but that’s a challenging message for kids to understand, especially if they have an interest in something that most kids don’t. Granted, most children won’t dig into the book that deeply.

Instead, kids will enjoy A Way With Wild Things because of the massive amount of colors and how busy each page is. On most pages there are multiple things to look at for vocabulary, colors, shapes or sight words in the actual text. It’s also a great length for a good-night book. If you read it without taking your time it’ll take just under five minutes. If you point out the colors, people or use voices for your characters then it’ll take about seven minutes. Either way, it’s a books that’s for any kid, not just those garden or insect kids.