posted on 01 Feb 2020

Wild Wolf by Fiona French

This extraordinarily beautiful book is a work of art that emerges out of a collaboration between an author-illustrator who learned her craft from the very best teachers – Charles Keeping and Bridget Riley – and a publisher, Otter-Barry, who have done her vision proud with their production values.

Based on a traditional tale called ‘Moowis’ from the Algonquin people of Canada and the North-West USA, French has put her own twist on the story and given it an alternative, happier ending than the original usually allows.

It’s the tale of Proud Girl who turns down the marriage suit of Bravest Warrior, who, furious at being rejected, vows vengeance. He crafts an Ice Man from rags, bones and snow and gives his creation life and being – enough to enchant Proud Girl who will follow him into the cold wastes. When the sun comes out and Ice Man melts away, Proud Girl is left stranded in the freezing wastelands and in fear for her life until Wild Wolf, who is out storyteller, steps in to help her out.

Wild Wolf watches over her until Bravest Warrior comes searching for Proud Girl, his heart full of forgiveness and regret for his actions in creating Ice Man to deceive her. Saved from her terrible fate, Proud Girl no longer thinks of herself as too good for her saviour and the two find love together.

The tale Fiona French has crafted is one of reconciliation and the healing power of love and commitment. For anyone concerned about the problems of cultural appropriation, French’s adaptation of the tale has been approved by an Algonquin storyteller and a share of the profits from the sales of the book will go to the Katarokwi Grandmothers’ Council of Kingston in Ontario.

The real star of the show however is French’s artwork which is bold, page-filling and beautifully realised. She has used photographs of Algonquin costume and used the colours of their needlework, beadwork and art. French herself notes:

“Although abstracted through the medium of oil crayon, all the details exist in real life.”

The book will almost certainly be kept by discriminating bookshops in their children’s picture book section but in truth it wouldn’t be out of place in the adult art and design sections of the shop. If you wanted an example of how absurd the artificial boundaries are between ‘adult’ and ‘children’s’ books, then this is it.

There are times when it’s a real privilege to review a book, when they are so beautifully conceived and presented that they take your breath away. This is one of those books.

 

Terry Potter

February 2020

(Click on any image below to view them in a slide-show format)