Canongate’s first children’s book, Wildwood, is a modern day classic combining the secret world of childhood with the dark struggles of nature. Enter if you dare.
Imagine a secret society of disguised demons; of grotesque villains who scheme to murder little children. On the surface, they look just like us, but beneath their wigs are scabby, itchy bald heads, hidden in their gloves are long, curly talons and coating their teeth is lurid blue phlegm.
Sound horrifying, but also strangely familiar? It should, since it’s the basic plot of The Witches by Roald Dahl, one of the most celebrated children’s authors of the 20th century. All of Dahl’s creations are shot through with his characteristic dark humour and grotesque violence, traits that make them a firm favourite of kids all over the world.
It’s a strange quirk of literature that the most popular children’s stories are also the most disturbing. Roald Dahl is just one of many. Hands up if you remember hiding under your duvet from the White Witch of Narnia, who froze the land and all its creatures in endless winter? How many parents have shuddered at the trail of murder, abuse and conspiracy in Lemony Snicket’s wryly titled A Series of Unfortunate Events?
Canongate’s first ever children’s book Wildwood continues this rich, dark vein of magical worlds and heroic struggles. It might be the Edinburgh publisher’s first foray into children’s fiction but it feels like decidedly familiar ground for an independent publisher with a penchant for edgy, distinctive voices. Its author, Colin Meloy, is a native of Portland, Oregon, but Wildwood feels like an intriguing hybrid of Scots folklore, American adventure and Victorian gothic fantasy.
This will come as no surprise to fans of Meloy, who is better known as front man to the Decemberists. In the words of The New York Times the Decemberists is a “hyper-literate folk-rock band” and Colin “a tale spinner singing character studies and parables”. The band’s most recent album The King Is Dead shot into the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in America, and they’re building a large following this side of the Atlantic too.
Wildwood is the first installment in a trilogy of titles, all beautifully illustrated by Colin’s wife, award-winning artist Carson Ellis (who is also the talent behind the Decemberists’ album covers). The protagonists – 12-year-old Prue and 11-year-old Curtis – are, says Colin, “very Portland”, with interests such as art, yoga, vegetarianism and single-speed bicycles. They are also reflections of Carson and Colin’s respective childhoods. Prue is independent and courageous, with a love of nature, while Curtis is an awkward loner with a penchant for comic books – everything you would expect of modern indie heroes.
The story begins when Prue’s baby brother is kidnapped and carried away by a murder of crows, who take him into the Impassable Wilderness. Prue enlists Curtis’ help to rescue her brother and the pair soon find themselves embroiled in the secret wars of the mysterious Wildwood. Along the way, the reader is introduced to a series of weird and wonderful characters, like bayonet-toating coyotes dressed in full Napoleonic uniform, a badger hauling a rickshaw and an industrious rat named Septimus. The story brims with struggle and violence, and Prue and Curtis must each find their own way of dealing with this frightening world.
Like many children’s books before it, Wildwood takes the awkward outsiders and turns them into alternative heroes in a fantastical other-world. Where it comes truly into its own is in its unapologetically literary tone, its fusion of archaic language with hip-hop slang and its idiosyncratic details.
In many ways, the book is a firm reflection of Colin and Carson, kindred spirits who met and fell in love at college and have delighted in creative collaboration ever since. The pair live in a modest warehouse home on the edge of Forest Park (the inspiration for Wildwood) with their son, Hank. Described by Colin as “one of the most wildly imaginative people I’ve met in my entire life”, Hank has autism and can escape for hours in his own thoughts. In Wildwood, his parents have followed his example and created their own little world - but they’re inviting us all in.
In a modern age marked by digitisation, globalisation and consumerism, there are few nicer places to escape to than Wildwood - sweetly macabre, old worlde and just a little bit bonkers.
Visit Colin Meloy's channel for exclusive video interviews, animations and free art downloads - and join the debate on twitter #WildwoodBook
Big congratulations to Canongate's fantastic reader, Erika Anderson, who has just received a New Writers Award.
Loading...