Friday Book Review: Wild Child by Lynn Plourde

This week's review is for a fun spirited and moving book that every mother can relate to. It is perfect right now for the Southern Hemisphere as it is a book about autumn. The book is called, "Wild Child" by Lynn Plourde.

It is a fairly simple book about Mother Earth attempting to put her Wild Child to bed. The child, of course, refuses by trying to draw out the time, asking for a song first, then a snack (chestnuts, pumpkins, apples, etc), then pajamas, and then finally a loving kiss. The words are vibrant and expressive, popping off the page with a lovely crackle! The illustrations take us through the orangish/reddish/yellowish colors and scenes of fall and when the Wild Child finally goes to sleep, she is gently covered by a soft blanket of white snow. Her mother lovingly says,

"Only sleep for a while,

for I shall miss my wild child,

my wild child called Autumn."

Mother Earth finally rests her own head, but just for a moment - before her next child, Winter, is wide awake, bouncing on her bed because he "can't sleep!"

How lovely! The finishing touch to this book just spoke so beautifully to the depth of motherhood; whether it's *Mother Nature* or Mothers of Earthly children. It is that gentle call (or screaming cry) in the middle of the night or just when we lay down to nap ourselves and then our little ones need us. We rush to their aid without a giving it a second thought. Our exhaustion is pushed aside to tend to our precious offspring.

This book is very sweet and a perfect read as late fall transitions to winter. As of this book review, this book is available at Amazon as part of their 4 for 3 promotion (buy four books marked with this promotion and get the lowest priced one for free). I've seen it available elsewhere, but not for this nice price!

It is a lovely read for preschool on up with gentle imagery and a dreamy storyline. Nice for bedtime reading, as well. It gets lovely reviews and I think it well deserves them!