Come Be Wild With Me is a story about unplugging for a day and exploring the outdoors. Black and white illustration with little pops of color accompany the text, with some pages brighter and more colorful than others. I personally was not a fan of the art style. A lot of controversy has popped up due to some people thinking the characters are dressed in Indigenous clothing, but I am not aware of any culture that wears leaves and flowers in their hair and wears clothing made of leaves and think some people jumped to the conclusion of feathers and headdresses rather than branches and leaves. The author has made a statement that she was not trying to depict Indigenous culture, but to represent the characters essentially "becoming one with nature." I think people are mistaking their hair as a headdress, which I think perhaps the artist could have avoided if she'd made their hair straight. The author also clearly states on the page that "we will wear leaves," and at no point conveys anything about appropriating Indigenous clothing, so I think in this case, the text backs up the author's side. However, I also agree at first look it could look like a headdress and the illustrations could have been better done. As for the actual content, I cringed a bit at the "wear leaves" part anyway, since as a hiking person, I probably would not be into the idea of ditching my clothes for foliage or eating random berries and scientists actually encourage people to stop making cairns because it is damaging to the environment (although technically the book does not specify they made the one pictured).

This is a sweet short picture book about leaving technology and modern living behind for a day and going out in nature and enjoying being in the wild.

In this case the wildness of the title is not in how you act, but where you go. “You must unplug to reconnect” is the first thing you read, while the last is, “When we’re good and ready, we’ll return to the world—happier boys and girls.” In between is all the things that can be done when you go for a walk in the woods.
The artwork is black and white with the sun and leaves in color. Looks quite stark.
3.5 pushed up to 4/5

I spend way too much of my life indoors, and appreciate any call to get outside more. In Kristen Maxwell's Come Be Wild With Me, she issues a call of the wild. "Do this. Do that. Plug in. Plug out. That's not what life is all about! Instead, let's get away, even if, just for a day." Go deep into the woods, live off the land, commune with nature, commune with the animals. In general, I love the message.

Kevin Sabino's illustrations add a unique look to the book. They are a sort of gray scale watercolor with highlights in neon colors. They look cool, but they are so far from the colors of nature that they look really unnatural. (OK, some of them look like wildflowers, but the whole look is not natural looking.)

The main reason I don't particularly like this book is the fact that it is completely unrealistic. Don't pack, and trade your clothes for leaves? Don't worry about food, just eat berries and drink from a stream? Dance with the animals? Soar with the butterflies? I love the call to get away from modern amenities and unwind in nature, but Maxwell and Sabino's vision is more silly and idealistic than practical and doable.

So, go be wild, but unlike what Maxwell offers, you should be prepared. Be sure you bring water or a means of water purification. Bring some food, and if you're going to eat wild berries be sure you have a knowledgeable guide or a good reference so you don't eat berries that will make you sick. Be kind and respectful to the animals, but, for the most part, don't expect them to be your buddies (especially large mammals). Remember the sun will be your blanket and the breeze will be your A/C, but be prepared for temperate extremes; I don't want you to get hypothermia. And if you're going to shed your clothes, wear sunscreen.





Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

I liked the message but I’m not sure about the illustrations.

Beautifully done!!
What else is there to say! A wonderful addition to any library. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read for a fair review.

Beautiful illustrations and simple but rich writing. I love the way this book encourages spending time outdoors and pushes back at the prevalence of technology. I was a little uncomfortable with the very idealistic depiction of spending all day and all night outside, eating berries and drinking water, but I also remember thinking that way as a kid, so maybe it's ok.

Come Be Wild With Me is a cute story book for children. It will appeal to younger readers and encourage them to go outside and play in nature, which is always a good thing.

The book contains a short, lyrical story about a mother and son who venture out into the forest to learn about the wild. They immerse themselves in the nature experience and have fantastic adventures exploring and being wild. The message is a positive one and shows kids that nature is a great place to be and that you can have imaginative adventures without being plugged into a device with a screen. They climb trees, throw stones into a lake, dress in leaves and eat berries. A full sensory experience of nature.

The story is accompanied by beautiful watercolor paintings depicting the storyline. The paintings are fanciful and colorful. The animals are cute and not scary for young readers. The characters are shown with smiling faces so that young readers will understand that nature is not a scary place; it’s a place that makes people happy.

The positive message of this book seems well-suited to readers of any age, and indeed adults will enjoy the poetic story and the accompanying paintings. The story is told in words that younger readers can sound out and spell, so it’s appropriate for the age group. Parents can read it to children who are too young to read on their own yet. It’s one of those books that a child might ask for as a bedtime story each night and memorize so that they can read along with the parent.

I enjoyed the story and its message about nature. I recommend this to anyone who wants to introduce their kids to nature and give them a storybook that will almost certainly become popular a favorite.

I would like to thank the author, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to see an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book and thought the illustrations were particularly beautiful. A sweet book to read and look at!

So I love this book, but at the same time find it highly annoying. First off the illustrations are AMAZING. The black and white smoky look with just bursts of brightness set the story on a right path. Our story is to put away your devices, get out of the house and go outside and play. Explore nature and use your imagination. Great story. Why I get annoyed is in the beginning the story rhymes, and rhymes well, but it does not keep it or canter throughout the book. If it is supposed to rhyme all the way through it misses the mark, and if it’s not then the first part needs to be broken up to get rid of the sing song canter. All in all, a great book for any collection.

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As a parent and librarian I am always looking for ways to get the kids away from devices and connect with a story or real life adventure. This book does both. This book starts with a parent and a child leaving technology behind for an unknown adventure amongst the trees.

I have heard a lot of discussion about the stereotypical, offensive illustrations in this book depicting Native American in the head dress as out-dated. Though, I disagree. The illustrations are beautiful and it does not state Native Americans being the characters portrayed. It says "we can trade our clothes for leaves," the accompanying picture is of two non-gender specific people wearing feathers and leaves on their head and around their waist. If a family is adventuring in nature, it seems appropriate attire to use found things like leaves and feathers for decoration for a fun, fashionable experience.

Wonderful! Just what I needed on a gloomy working day. Thank you for writing this.

The illustrations seem to equate traditional Native American dress with being wild, which is a bit of a stereotypical and outdated view. There are many other ways Sabino could have illustrated wildness without being stereotypical or offensive.

Beautiful book encouraging families to disconnect from the technical world and reconnect with each other and with nature. I enjoyed the simple adventures and the transformation the characters underwent during their getaway. Thank you for the copy.

Cute little book! Perfect for families and kids! I loved the message and the illustrations.

This short picture book had some cute illustrations, but the text left me wanting more. It struck me as somewhat repetitive and just seemed like the autho could have gone farther and really incorporated her "technology free in nature" theme.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the review copy and opportunity.

Sweet and gentle tale with perfectly accompanying illustrations. This book is wonderful for a one to one reading or an entire group at story time. The book gives a lot of opportunities to stop and discuss as the story moves.

This was such a beautiful book and full of learnings for years to come, also inspiring for us as parents. I absolutely loved it and I will definitely give it as a gift to my little one when he turns 3 years old.

An absolutely breathtakingly beautiful children's book about the importance of reconnecting with the powers of nature. As a mother of an 8 month old being raised in Toronto and already drawn to the glow of an electronic screen, I sighed with relief as I read through this story. The illustrations evolve through a series of monochromes to bright beautiful colors as mother and son escape the rush, anxiety and consumption of daily life simply by stepping outside and enjoying what nature has to offer. At extreme risk of sounding cliche: This story is a breath of fresh air! I cant wait to share it with my son so that we can both remember to respect and enjoy the outdoors.

Abeajtiful book full of vivid, imaginative,colourful illustrations and magical verse to inspire adventure, security and love of the outdoors and family time together exploring. A great book for young children to share