Wildwood

Annotation: This first installment launches The Wildwood Chronicles as Prue and her pal Curtis embark on a rescue mission to the forbidden "Impassable Wilderness of Portland, Oregon after her baby brother Mac is carried off by crows. Along the way the pair find themselves caught in the middle of an epic conflict among the divided human, talking animal and magical creatures who inhabit the wood.

Book Talk:

Prue had been warned about the Impassable Wilderness since as far back as she could remember. No matter how cool or laid back the artsy hipster parents of Portland were, they all forbid their children from ever setting foot near the I.P. Prue had never given the woods a second thought, and besides, you’d have to cross the Industrial Wastes to get there, and who would want to do that? She was content to cruise around Portland with her baby brother Mac’s wagon hitched to the back of her bicycle. Until the day the murder of crows stole him, that is! Right from the back of the wagon, in the middle of the safe old park! They just swooped right down, lifted him up in his blanket and flew him away into the Impassable Wilderness!

Determined to rescue Mac, Prue ignores the echoes of the warnings from her quirky, yet sensible parents and sets off on an adventure with very little clues to guide her journey. And to make matters worse, Curtis, a kid from the neighborhood, has followed her out of Portland and he’s not exactly coming in handy as an adventure buddy; more like an adventure liability!

Just crossing into the woods is risky enough, but what awaits Prue and Curtis is far more treacherous. The magical woodland creatures are at war! Prue and Curtis find themselves smack in the middle of an epic political struggle for control of the wood. From the coyote soldiers and the Dowager Governess to the mystics, the bandits and their king and the privileged bourgeoisie human and animal town folk, it isn’t easy to discern just who or what Prue and Curtis should trust and align with. It will take all the courage, smarts and luck they have to rescue Mac and battle their way out of the Wildwood.

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Get started reading Wildwood right away! Click here to download a free preview except of the book!

Check out a book trailer with illustrations from the book!

"Wildwood by Colin Meloy, Illustrated by Carson Ellis" Online Posting. YouTube, 28 July 2011. Web. 29 November 2011.

Enjoy a video clip of the author and illustrator talking more about creating Wildwood!

"Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis Discuss Wildwood" Online Posting. YouTube, 15 June 2011. Web. 29 November 2011.

Meloy, Colin. Wildwood. Illus. Carson Ellis. New York: Balzer-Harper, 2011. 

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Image courtesy of http://www.wildwoodchronicles.com/