"A rewilding story about bringing a wood back to life."
A delightful picture book that gives young readers a real insight into the relationship between animals and habitat.
We are very familiar with the concept of animals needing a certain sort of habitat supplying them with shelter and the food they need to grow and thrive, but here we learn that this is not a one-way process and that in fact the plants and trees need the animals for the habitat to thrive. What was equally surprising to me was that there are European bison and that a very similar extinct creature, the woodland bison, once roamed our own countryside.
Tanglewood is an old, dark and overgrown wood. We meet three very familiar creatures, the Fox, the Rat and the Crow. They are moaning about the lack of things for them to eat in Tanglewood. Blackberries remain hard and green and there are no tasty bugs and grubs around. ‘Long ago, things used to grow’ says Fox. But one day they spot a very big footprint and as they follow them, they hear loud munching and smell a strong smell and there before them is a huge creature who tells them he is Bison ‘and deep down, below ground, things start to stir. Tanglewood holds its breath’.
The trio are horrified that Bison is eating everything in his path, knocking down trees, rolling in the mud and depositing enormous piles of poo! This is bound to delight young readers as much as it does Tanglewood.
The trio of friends send Bison deeper into the wood, but while they grow ever thinner and more miserable where they are, the wood begins to thrive around Bison. His actions bring light and air into the wood and his poo adds nutrients to the soil, things begin to grow and butterflies, grubs and insects appear.
This is a wonderful demonstration of rewilding and there are very useful and informative notes at the end of the book, explaining about how trees communicate on the ‘wood wide web’ and all about the fabulous European Bison. With delicate, expressive watercolour illustrations, this is both charming and informative and will be a valuable addition to any class or home library.
| Suitable For: | |
| Other Genres: |
We've got some great stuff related to this book in our KidsZone.
Head over there and check it out now.
In Tanglewood, Fox, Rat and Crow encounter a strange creature in their old, overgrown wood. It’s a bison and he’s eating the bramble bushes, knocking down trees, wallowing in mud and leaving a lot of dung.
Fox, Rat and Crow don’t want a Bison in their wood and tell him to go. But Bison has a positive effect on Tanglewood and, in the end Fox, Rat and Crow see that they were wrong, and welcome Bison back.
A note from the author;
What inspired me to write this story? As a child, I lived in West Sussex, very close to Knepp, now a wilding centre. My father was a nature poet and countryman who knew the birds and their songs and where to watch badgers. My mother taught us the names of the butterflies and flowers and showed us the secret woodland places where rare orchids grew, and wild daffodils bloomed in the spring.
Now I live in a city, and I see the countryside of my childhood vanishing and children today missing out on the natural world I took for granted. In this book, I want to share with them the mysteries of the natural world and the hope felt when we see how some of the damage can be undone.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Tanglewood and determined it is suitable for children aged 3-8 years old
Tanglewood features in the following genres: Featured Books for 3+ readers, Featured Books for 5+ readers, Featured Books for 7+ readers, Recommendations, Animal Stories, The Natural World, Ecological and Environmental Interest - Non Fiction, Personal Social Health Economic (PSHE), Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Children’s / Teenage: General interest, Children’s / Teenage: Social issues / topics
Tanglewood is available in Paperback
Tanglewood was written by Gillian McClure and published by Plaister Press
Tanglewood has 32 pages
£7.19
