Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
The Wild Girl
Picture Book
For ages 6 to 8
Random House UK, 2005 ISBN: 978-0224070263
In a wild place where there are no towns or roads there lives a little girl. She is all alone except for a small dog who is her friend and helper. Of course the girl does not go to school and since there are no shops nearby, she and the dog have to hunt and search for their food. They eat fish and berries, and sometimes they eat insects as well.
The little girl has never seen another person nor has she seen a sign of one either. Sometimes she will call out across the valleys but the only thing she hears is the sound of her own voice in the echo.
One cold snowy winter night the little girl and the dog go out to collect firewood. When they return to their cave they find that a bear has been inside their home. When the bear returns, they drive it away, determined not to give up the cave which provides them shelter. Soon after the bear leaves the little girl discovers that the bear has left something very precious behind - her cub. Now what is the girl to do? She cannot separate the baby from its mother and yet she has driven the mother bear away?
As they read this very special and beautifully illustrated picture book readers will be able to imagine what it might be like to live in the wilderness all on ones own. Though there would be much freedom, it would also be hard to find food, get through a cold winter, and manage without the companionship of others. Readers will be hard pressed not to smile as they see how the little girl resolves her problem and how very unlikely friendships can develop under the right circumstances.
