Here are 100 books that Wildful fans have personally recommended if you like
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My love since childhood for the natural world made me use my art to speak for those who don't have a voice to fight back: the animals who are losing their habitat daily, the old-growth forests getting cut down, and the waters that are polluted mindlessly. When my partner and I adopted our puppy, Reynard, we were so obsessed with him that we decided to write and illustrate a book about his adventures, and naturally, it ended up also touching on different environmental topics. Our art endeavors also inspired us to begin a movement to stop a toxic sulfide mine from being built next to Lake Superior and the Porcupine Mountains in Michigan.
This is a wonderful book to expand our compassion regarding less charismatic but highly important and magnificent beings – the trees.
I was really captivated by all the interesting facts that I had no idea about, and the gorgeous watercolor illustrations made it even more entertaining. Now, when I go to the forest, I think about the roots being highly connected underneath, about Mother Trees nurturing their young and exchanging nutrients and information with other trees.
Having all this new knowledge makes the forest feel even more alive to me. It also reminded me that even if we are not aware of it, humans are part of the infinite natural web of connections. Our actions affect the forests as much as the lack of forests affects our psychology and behavior.
A STUNNING NEW GRAPHIC NOVEL, BRILLIANTLY ADAPTED FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST, AND WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER
A Top Ten Graphic Novel of 2024-American Library Association
From "veritable tree whisperer" (WSJ) and internationally celebrated author Peter Wohlleben comes the long-awaited graphic novel adaptation of one of the most beloved books of our time. "Wohlleben has listened to trees and decoded their language. Now he speaks for them." (NYRB)
Filled with breathtaking illustrations and scientific facts about the forest and the flora and fauna who call it home-this eye-opening book will delight readers young and old.
Twelve-year-old identical twins Ellie and Kat accidentally trigger their physicist mom’s unfinished time machine, launching themselves into a high-stakes adventure in 1970 Chicago. If they learn how to join forces and keep time travel out of the wrong hands, they might be able find a way home. Ellie’s gymnastics and…
My love since childhood for the natural world made me use my art to speak for those who don't have a voice to fight back: the animals who are losing their habitat daily, the old-growth forests getting cut down, and the waters that are polluted mindlessly. When my partner and I adopted our puppy, Reynard, we were so obsessed with him that we decided to write and illustrate a book about his adventures, and naturally, it ended up also touching on different environmental topics. Our art endeavors also inspired us to begin a movement to stop a toxic sulfide mine from being built next to Lake Superior and the Porcupine Mountains in Michigan.
There are few books where animals get to tell their side of the story regarding habitat destruction due to human development.
I was truly moved by the resilience of these rabbits in their search for a new home, and the glimpses of their myths and culture were very entertaining. The illustrations were breathtaking and transported me into all the landscapes and scenes of the story. Even though it's a long book, I couldn't stop reading, so I finished it really fast!
It's because of tales like this one that we have the opportunity to expand our compassion for beings other than human.
Watership Down: The Graphic Novel captures Richard Adams's epic tale of courage, friendship, hope, and survival.
Spectacularly adapted by award-winning author James Sturm and gorgeously illustrated by bestselling artist Joe Sutphin.
'Every page of this adaptation is a loving tribute to Richard Adams's masterpiece' - Andrew Peterson, author of The Wingfeather Saga.
For more than 50 years, Watership Down has charmed readers across the world, and now this highly anticipated graphic novel adaptation is set to delight devoted readers and bring this beloved classic to a new generation.
'Every rabbit that stays behind is in great danger. We will welcome…
My love since childhood for the natural world made me use my art to speak for those who don't have a voice to fight back: the animals who are losing their habitat daily, the old-growth forests getting cut down, and the waters that are polluted mindlessly. When my partner and I adopted our puppy, Reynard, we were so obsessed with him that we decided to write and illustrate a book about his adventures, and naturally, it ended up also touching on different environmental topics. Our art endeavors also inspired us to begin a movement to stop a toxic sulfide mine from being built next to Lake Superior and the Porcupine Mountains in Michigan.
This graphic novel was not only moving, but it also helped me to get a deeper understanding of the business of elephant riding for tourists.
I knew that this was a terrible practice, but learning all the details about how these magnificent creatures are treated made me feel that I want to help promote awareness about alternatives, like elephant-friendly tours.
This book captivated me from the beginning, and the illustrations are some of the most beautiful I have seen in graphic novels. I loved how so much fascinating information was woven into the story, making it entertaining and educational.
From the creators behind the Eisner-nominated Saving Sorya: Chang and the Sun Bear comes another gorgeously-illustrated graphic novel adventure based on a true story, in which young conservationist Chang overcomes the odds to save and return an elephant to its natural habitat.
While volunteering at a wildlife rescue center near Yok Don National Park in Vietnam, Chang helps rescue an injured and abused Asian elephant named H'Non. For decades, H'Non was forced to haul heavy timber logs and concrete poles at construction sites, and then to carry riders at tourist attractions all day long with no break. While nursing H'Non…
Twelve-year-old identical twins Ellie and Kat accidentally trigger their physicist mom’s unfinished time machine, launching themselves into a high-stakes adventure in 1970 Chicago. If they learn how to join forces and keep time travel out of the wrong hands, they might be able find a way home. Ellie’s gymnastics and…
My love since childhood for the natural world made me use my art to speak for those who don't have a voice to fight back: the animals who are losing their habitat daily, the old-growth forests getting cut down, and the waters that are polluted mindlessly. When my partner and I adopted our puppy, Reynard, we were so obsessed with him that we decided to write and illustrate a book about his adventures, and naturally, it ended up also touching on different environmental topics. Our art endeavors also inspired us to begin a movement to stop a toxic sulfide mine from being built next to Lake Superior and the Porcupine Mountains in Michigan.
This is a very encouraging graphic novel for anyone who thinks that their voice and concerns about Nature's protection aren't being heard.
It just takes one caring person to start a movement and, in time and with effort, to save the natural places that we love. I appreciate how the story starts in the forest, which the protagonist and her friends love, and I enjoyed following their journey and decisions on how to proceed to prevent a parking lot from being built in it instead.
My husband Tom and I started a movement called Protect the Porkies to prevent a sulfide mine from being built right next door to one of the most beloved State Parks, the Porcupine Mountains, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
In the beginning, it was only the two of us, but now there are hundreds of thousands of people who are working to spread the word to…
'This bold graphic novel sequel to Cross My Heart and Never Lie, which Alice Oseman called "a warm hug", follows Bao, who bands together with her friends to save their beloved forest from being turned into a car park. But how can they make the adults listen?
A story about being big enough to understand what needs to be done, but too young to be taken seriously.
When Bao finds out that the adults have decided to turn her beloved forest - the Bog - into a car park, she realises that she's the one who must act! With her…
Although I grew up in New York City, from a young age I was drawn to the natural world, particularly through gardening and camping trips. Eventually I studied biology in college and earned a Master’s researching stream ecology. I also always imagined myself a writer. For years my writing was solely in letters and journals, but during my Master’s I started a novel featuring an immature mayfly in the stream (it was somewhat autobiographical). Ecology is all about the connection of organisms to their environment and to one another, and I think this perspective of connectedness has embedded itself deeply in my writing and my life.
I particularly love books that combine the trifecta of engaging story; interesting, complex characters; and good writing with real substance (as in, I stop to think about the content). Greenwood has all of these.
The writing is particularly lyrical—I could fill this space with beautiful quotes. The author takes the reader through four generations of a family, with each generation intimately connected to trees in different ways—from lumbermen to environmental activist to woodcraftsman to botanist.
And as the author “takes a core” through a family tree, the story captures both the characters’ relationships to one another as well as to the world in which they live. I cannot recommend this book enough!
'The truth is that all family lines, from the highest to the lowest, originate somewhere, on some particular day. Even the grandest trees must've once been seeds spun helpless on the wind, and then just meek saplings nosing up from the soil.'
2038. On a remote island off the Pacific coast of British Columbia stands the Greenwood Arboreal Cathedral, one of the world's last forests. Wealthy tourists flock from all corners of the dust-choked globe to see the spectacle and remember what once was. But even as they breathe in the fresh air and pose for photographs amidst the greenery,…
Ever since my parents gave me a copy of Dorothy Aldis’ The Secret Place and Other Poems, I have enjoyed a lifelong love of poetry. Now, as a traditionally-published children’s author, I have had numerous books and poems published over the years, including books that began as poems, like Flashlight Night (Astra Young Readers, 2017) and Once Upon Another Time (Beaming Books, 2021). My poems can be found in various anthologies including The National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry (National Geographic Children's Books, 2015).
Amy has a way of making every poem feel personal, not just in the way the reader connects with the words, but in the way the subjects are presented. The poems are intimate, friendly, surprising, and comforting, whether they are written from a third-person perspective or from the point of view of the animals themselves. Beautiful to read, and beautiful to look at, readers will never look at the forest the same way again.
A spider is a “never-tangling dangling spinner / knitting angles, trapping dinner.” A tree frog proposes, “Marry me. Please marry me… / Pick me now. / Make me your choice. / I’m one great frog / with one strong voice.” VanDerwater lets the denizens of the forest speak for themselves in twenty-six lighthearted, easy-to-read poems. As she observes, “Silence in Forest / never lasts long. / Melody / is everywhere / mixing in / with piney air. / Forest has a song.” The graceful, appealing watercolor illustrations perfectly suit these charming poems that invite young readers into the woodland world…
I’ve been fascinated with forests ever since running wild as a kid in the Appalachian woods of Pennsylvania. Now living at the edge of the Pacific in the Coast Range in Oregon, I’ve engaged with a host of forest issues involving watershed health, wilderness protection, fire management, and fish. Among the 30 books I’ve written, three are germane here: Trees and Forests of America, Twilight or the Hemlocks and Beeches, and America’s Great Forest Trails. I’m always learning more by reading everything I find about forests. For my afternoon break and exercise I typically work on my own 8-acre wooded parcel where I maintain trails, eradicate exotic invaders, and restore native trees.
This book moves me more than any other regarding the climate crisis and the essential need to protect remaining old-growth forests, especially in the Pacific Northwest. Living there myself, I especially appreciate the work of Paul Koberstein and Jessica Applegate. They make clear that we must address a fundamental need regarding the heating of our planet: to leave intact the forest ecosystem that helps us the most.
"Trees are crucial in preserving a liveable future. Canopy of Titans makes an eloquent plea for saving one of North America's last great forests." - Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
Canopy of Titans examines the global importance of the Pacific Coastal Temperate Rainforest that stretches from Northern California to Alaska and catalogs the threats to this vital environmental resource.
The product of years of on-the-ground reporting, this richly illustrated book celebrates the beauty and complexity of one of the world's great forests. It provides readers with easy-to-grasp insights into the science behind carbon sequestration and…
I come from a family of some of the earliest big-game hunters turned conservationists of India and grew up treading jungles with my naturalist father. As a child, I was often found trying to catch a snake or spin a yarn or reading from the collection of wildlife and natural history books at home. Jungles were as much a part of growing up as was going to school, and I learnt precious life lessons from them. To pursue the cause of conservation, I’ve written several fiction and non-fiction books, as well as articles in national dailies/magazines on wildlife and nature, and I was appointed the Honorary Wildlife Warden of Udaipur, India.
Another book (1958 edition) from my father’s fascinating library.
When I began penning my first book, I wanted to be as true as I could to a rainforest and bring forth the actual characteristics and legends of the jungles. On the Track of… gave me ideas for unusual creatures, instead of the normal elves and dwarves and fairies of fantasies. I came to know about the less-known local legends, ‘hidden’ animals, and strange creatures from the remote wild corners of our planet, be it tatzulwurms or Kongamato, the last flying dragon.
The author has combined zoology and cultural anthropology in a captivating account.
I've been the resident playwright at First Stage Children’s Theater in Milwaukee for over twenty years. I began my career by adapting classic titles for the stage: Little House Christmas, Treasure Island, Huck Finn, Through the Looking Glass, Tom Sawyer. As I researched previous adaptions of these novels, I discovered how so many of them were quite different from the author’s original intentions. I don’t feel these adaptations are 'bad,' by any means—in fact, I believe you have to break free of a novel to truly adapt it for a different medium—but often the 'adaptation' is the only part of the story that gets passed down to us.
I remember the first time someone told me to read this book, and I replied, “Bambi? Really? No thank you.” I, of course, had only known the Disney-ized version of the story. I assumed it was a book for toddlers, with cute little bunny rabbits and birds singing in the trees. I was very wrong. It is a profound coming-of-age story dealing with family, love, parents, adulthood, loss, intolerance, death, betrayal, and the horrors which humans can inflict on both the environment and each other. It was banned and burned in Germany in 1936 as it was seen as a political allegory of the Nazi Party. A powerful book, and, unfortunately, still a very timely one.
Immerse yourself in a young deer's world in this resplendent, collectible edition of the richly imagined and vividly illustrated masterpiece that inspired the beloved Disney film.
Bambi lives in a thicket in the forest. From his kind and caring mother, to all the friends he makes among the forest's inhabitants, to his twin cousins Faline and Gobo, he is surrounded by animals who wish him well. But there are dangers within and surrounding the forest, and all too soon they will make themselves known.
A beautifully written and critically acclaimed classic that has been translated into more than twenty languages…
As a child, I enjoyed a special relationship with an oak tree in my backyard. My father indulged my love of nature with backpacking trips in the mountains of California. In my teens, he published my booklet on edible wild plants. My maternal grandmother encouraged my interest in Indigenous uses of plants with books, field trips, and stories from her anthropology studies at UC Berkeley. My mother cultivated my creativity with ferocious intensity and supported my desire to earn a Ph.D. I landed my dream job at an alternative, interdisciplinary, small, public liberal arts college and have taught botany there for nearly 30 years. I love teaching plant-centric environmental history.
Michael Williams’ nearly 600-page tome is a classic must-read for anyone seriously wanting to learn about American forest history. It's richly illustrated with 159 figures and plates, plus numerous tables.
I love how he uses historic photos and illustrations in addition to quantitative data to build a grounded understanding of Americans’ shifting relations with trees. The book spans roughly 400 years, with an emphasis on the 1800s and early 1900s.
I enjoyed learning about a wide variety of trees that have played important roles in U.S. history. I also appreciated how Williams explores the cultural influences on people’s attitudes and behaviors towards forests, including religion.
When Europeans first reached the land that would become the United States they were staggered by the breadth and density of the forest they found. The existence of that forest, and the effort either to use or subdue it, have been constant themes in American history, literature, economics, and geography up to the meaning of the forest in American history and culture, he describes and analyzes the clearing and use of the forest from pre-European times to the present, and he traces the subsequent regrowth of the forest since the middle of the twentieth century. Dr Williams begins by exploring…
