The Little Crooked Bookshelf

Wild Child
by Lynn Plourde
illustrated by Greg Couch

What it's all about...

A child named Autumn does not want to go sleep. She bounces on the bed, requests a song, a snack, pj's, and then a kiss. Mother Earth indulges her little one, until at last she is able to get her wild child to settle down to sleep.

Why it's on the Little Crooked Bookshelf...

Though the concept for the book--a child stalling at bedtime--may seem straightforward and familiar, this whimsical, stunning picture book is anything but. The story is a metaphor for nature and the change of seasons, conveyed through Lynn Plourde's crisp, crackling verse and Greg Couch's dreamy luminescent illustrations, in which the characters's features blend seamlessly into the autumn landscape, and a subtly changing palette signals the passage of time. 

Our favorite lines ...

So Mother Earth/ gave her child a snack.../ Crunchy, munchy,/ chewy chestnuts./ Plumpy, lumpy, pulpy pumpkins./ Snapperly, dapperly,/ cidery apples./ Puckery, smuckery,/ crimsony cranberries.

Our favorite illustration... 

Why kids will love it...

There are many charming details to discover in each spread. Leaves bursting with color become the fabric of Autumn's robe. Mother Earth's nose is a tall pine tree. Rolling hills resemble a patchwork bedtime quilt. Forest creatures scamper and flitter across the page.

Why grown-ups will love it...

Plourde plays skillfully with the rhyme scheme so that it's never stale or expected, delivering phrases that roll off the tongue and are fun to read aloud. It's the perfect seasonal story for bidding farewell to fall, and welcoming winter as it comes "a-swooshing" and "a-swirling" in!