Fantasy … with a pause for thought.
What would the world be like without animals? Piers Torday tackles this tragic concept with a fantastical tale aimed at children around and above the age of nine – however this fable may appeal to adults who like fantasy and sci-fi. It tells the story of a land where animals no longer exist.
Twelve-year-old Kester Jaynes lives in a home for troubled children and he sometimes feels like he hardly exists either… so when Kester meets a flock of talking pigeons and a bossy cockroach, Kester is at first shocked, but then starts to listen to what the animals have to say. The pigeons fly Kester to a wild place where the last creatures in the land have survived. A wise stag asks Kester’s help, and they must embark on a great journey to save the animals. They meet some fascinating creatures along the way, like a dancing mouse, a show-cat and a wolf cub. The story about what the animals do for the lonely boy and what he tries to do for them, may be fiction, but will make readers think about the environment and what we can do to make things better.
The Last Wild – Piers Torday
ISBN 9781780878287
Published by Quercus
