This was such an interesting read. We learned a lot in such a short book. Finn loved reading about the wildebeest and I learned more than I ever knew I wanted to. It was an educational book that was still fun and kept his attention.

I was planning to review this book on my blog this week and was given access to it, but the file appears to have been removed before I had a chance to download it.

A folktale from the Africa, The Wild Beast describes the creation of the wildebeest. Eric Walters bring life to the story in text while illustrator Sue Todd gives it a rich cultural feel. Most cultures have myths concerning creation, with this being one. How the story has been influenced by other cultures, I cannot say.

Children will be entertained by this story, but it is the illustrations that steal the show. It might be best read as a read aloud and discussion. The idea of not taking more than you need is a worthy concept told through the folktale of the wildebeest creation.

The publisher through Net Galley provided a digital ARC. I have voluntarily decided to read and review, giving my personal opinions and thoughts.

Small children enjoy explanatory stories like this one. I clearly remember enjoying How the Camel Got His Hump and The Elephant Child when I was small, and this tale is right in line with those. Even a small child understands that the "just so" of a just so story is not truth but a source of humor. For an older child, this book could be the starting point for any number of lessons in creation stories, conservation, even an art project.

This is a wonderful creation story. Yes there is a reference to a “she” who makes the light and the world, but no actual reference to any god or deity. At the end is a bit about the mission of the author, and how this story came about, but if you are against religious things, or religious things that differ in beliefs from yours, just skip this last bit about the author and enjoy the rest of the story. It’s really neat and has amazing illustrations that speak to the land and culture the book speaks about.

(4.5 stars)

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is basically a story of creation. It talks about all the animals and how they came to be. How the earth was formed. The pictures were very colorful and unique. The message was nice. I think kids would enjoy it. Some parents may not like that the creator is referred to as female. I didn't mind.

Prolific Canadian children’s author, Eric Walters, is known mostly for his novels for the 10-to-14-year-old set that focus on current issues and events (for example: 911, the Haitian earthquake, soldiers who return from peacekeeping with PTSD) or revolve around significant events (and people) from Canadian history (the discovery of insulin, Camp X—Canada’s secret World War II spy-training facility, Hurricane Hazel’s strike on Toronto, Terry Fox: the young Canadian hero who decided to run a marathon a day on his prosthetic leg—having lost his original one to osteosarcoma—in order to raise money for cancer research). In recent years, Walters has set a number of his novels for young people in Africa, and he has begun to author picture books about children on that continent.

In THE WILD BEAST, his latest picture book, Walters tells a creation story—based on those from Eastern and Central Africa—about the origins of the wildebeest. According to legend, this strange herd animal was made by the Creator from all the leftover parts of other creatures. Interestingly, Walters’s “Creator” is a “she” who cautions the animals, even as she creates them, to use no more than they need. Her commitment to conservation, making use of everything and not wasting anything, informs the creation of her final wild beast. The leftover bits and pieces—extra bumps and stripes and horns and beards—all go to good use: to make her last (odd but favourite) animal.

Sue Todd’s lovely, bold, and energetic illustrations go well with Walters’s pared-down alliterative text. They greatly put me in mind of the work of David Diaz, the acclaimed American illustrator who has worked with children’s authors Kathleen Krull (Wilma Unlimited) and Eve Bunting (Smoky Night).

This is a lovely book, which I think will go over well with children of all ages. The clean, patterned sentences make a nice model for kids interested in writing their own creation stories. The important message about conservation is woven effectively and organically into the text.

Thank you to Orca Book Publishers and Netgalley for providing me with an advance review copy.

My favorite part of “The Wild Beast” was the illustrations. Beautiful! I also enjoyed learning a new creation story.

This beautifully illustrated story is based on an African creation story of the wildebeast. The Creator makes the universe, the earth, water, sky, plants, fish, birds and mammals, and she tells each animal to "Take what you need to live. Take no more. Waste nothing." When the Creator realizes that she has some leftover pieces, she takes her own advice and uses them to make the unique wildebeast. This is a cute story that I think most kids will find funny and interesting. The illustrations are colorful and vibrant, and I love that the Creator is female!

Thanks you Netgalley and Orca Book Publishers for an advance copy of this book.

I really enjoyed this story! Eric Walters has written a simple and sweet creation story with the very important reminder to only take what you need so that you don't waste anything. I especially liked that the story was not wordy -- books like this can be so much more fun to read with children when there is room for them to build on the story themselves.

I also loved the vibrant and unique illustrations by Sue Todd, and was fascinated to read that she created them by using a printmaking technique involving carving the images into linoleum.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orca Book Publishers for providing me with a free electronic ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is based on the African Tale of the creation of the wildebeast. The creator in this story is a female, which is nice to see. After creating the universe, earth, water, sky, plants, birds, fish and animals, there are leftover pieces. That is what "she" uses to create the strange looking wildebeast. I loved the repetitive message of "Take what you need to live. Take no more. Waste nothing." I wish everyone lived by that mantra. A great book to use when talking about folklore as well as oral traditions of storytelling. The illustrations are wonderful and the style they were created in with carved linoleum and vibrant ink almost makes them seem alive. The back tells about Eric Walters visits and life when living and helping in Africa. A great addition to any library, home, school, class or public.

There are several things that I have loved about "The Wild Beast". First, I must commend Ms. Sue Todd for the amazing illustrations! They were colorful and would be very interesting for children. I also loved how the animals were created by God or a deity that is personified as a woman, it was something new and fascinating. I also like the new approach to the creation of the word, that everything was made of clay and the wild beast was created because the deity does not want to waste any clay. Unfortunately, the story was a bit lacking. I would have love if the book was focused on the creation itself and not just the wild beast. Mr. Walters could have at least added the creation of humans or even sea creatures. With the story line, Mr. Walters could have expanded more.

"And to each that she created she said this: Take what you need to live. Take no more. Waste nothing."

I like this picture book. It'd be really beneficial for me since it has so much to do with Africa, and my little kiddies love books about their continent during therapy. I also like that the creator is a "she" in this picture book.

There are some very cute creation myths that I very much enjoyed, especially for the zebras and camels. I really enjoyed how the picture book ended. All in all, this is a cute creation myth with a vibrant and quirky style that kids will enjoy - for relating to their own country or learning about a far-off one.

This book, based on a folk-tale from Kenya, is not written by a Kenyan, but by a white missionary from Canada. And I'm sure he means well, but it feels as though he has taken his idea of creation, and tacked on the story he heard.

I chose this book to review because of the cover, and the illustrations, which are quite striking.

<img class="alignnone wp-image-440 size-full" src="http://www.reyes-sinclair.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Screen-Shot-2018-05-04-at-10.01.44-PM.png" alt="Wildebeast" />

The story, the concept of the whole book, is that when the wildebeest was created, it was made up of all the left over bits of all the other animals that had been created. And the illustrator does a great job of conveying that part of the story.

It is just with so many stories out there that are written by white colonists, do we really need one more, no matter how gorgeous the pictures are? I would have loved to have read the original folk tale, which is important to the people of Kenya, because it would have reflected their beliefs and their history.

Lovely illustrations though, so it gets the three stars for that.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

I absolutely adore this book! I love the story and the illustrations are just so gorgeous and eye-catching. This book is stunning! I will definitely be purchasing this for my son's library collection.