Michael Morpurgo, illustrated by Sarah Young,
Running Wild
HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2009.

Ages 8-13

By anyone’s measure, nine-year-old Will is going through a difficult time.  He just lost his father, a British army officer, in the Iraq war, and no one believes it was for a good cause.  His grandparents decide to send Will and his mother on a Christmas vacation to Indonesia where they will be far away from memories and can hopefully enjoy themselves, but that’s where things go from horrible to even worse.

While Will is living his dream of riding an elephant, his mother and thousands of others are swept away in the infamous Boxing Day Tsunami.  Fortunately for Will, Oona the elephant knew the tsunami was coming and bolted for higher ground before the wave struck shore.  Not surprisingly, Will isn’t all that happy to have survived.  When he realizes his mother has surely drowned, he wishes the tsunami had taken him, too.  Nevertheless, he is alive, and, with Oona’s help, must somehow stay that way in the jungle.

Will and Oona encounter every imaginable threat to their safety, from the treacherous (tigers, hunters, and western profiteers) to the mundane (finding safe food and water, reliable shelter, and dealing with leeches).  Will eventually loses track of time, develops a close relationship with his elephant protector, comes to foster a trio of orphaned orangutans, and becomes very much a creature of the jungle.  When he does encounter civilization again, Will has to make some difficult choices about his future.  Will he return to England to live with his grandparents and attend Chelsea football games with his chums, or will he stay behind to help his new, non-human family cope with the exploitation and environmental degradation wrought on them by his own species?

Michael Morpurgo’s enthralling tale of emotional devastation, adventure, love, and growing up is a gripping and powerfully written page-turner.  Will and Oona’s epic journey (which lasts more than a year) offers readers an opportunity to explore the meaning of survival and escape from forces both natural and political.  Inspired by the Just So Stories of Rudyard Kipling and William Blake’s poem “The Tyger”, Running Wild will be enjoyed by animal lovers, adventure seekers, and people of every age who appreciate a good book.

Abigail Sawyer
February 2010