Wild Things!

Reviewed by: Shirley LaBranche - MapleStone, Acton, SMLD

Review Date: October 14, 2015

Review

Wild Things! by Betsy Bird, Julie Danielson and Peter Sieruta is a delightful read full of thought provoking insights and good old fashion literary gossip. Written by three bloggers with impressive reviewing credentials, we get the inside story of many children's books. My favorite was the epitaph which slipped through on the first edition but has been removed in all subsequent editions: Virginia Kirk US A Nasty Soul Is Its Own Reward 1765-1776. This was aimed at Virginia Kirk, the editor of Kirkus Reviews and inserted into a scene when Hancock is visiting the graves of his children in the book, Will You Sign Here, Mr. Hancock? Why the nasty epitaph? A particularly vitriolic review of Trina Schart Hyman's illustrations created for Snow White. This book not only gives many similar inside stories, but also outlines trends in Children's Literature. Sure to be a hit among students of literature and book lovers in general.

Overall Book Score: excellent