Customer Reviews

Where Wild Willie

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"Where Wild Willie" is an unusual children's story, or rather, poem. The book is nicely illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully, whose later work, in "Mirette on the Highwire," was awarded the Caldecott Medal. As a story, this book is an easy and enjoyable read that should appeal to young dreamers and poets. It evokes ideas of exploration, freedom, and creativity. The subject is a child who daydreams of running away. The poetic form and lack of capitalization are reminiscent of the style of E.E. Cummings. Though the vocabulary is easy, the odd syntax and grammar might prove a slight stumbling block ~ moreso to parents or educators than to a young reader. There are instances of poetic stylization, such as the use of the invocative "o" in place of "oh." Other poetic conventions include alliteration and rhyme. As poetry, some sentiments are open to interpretation. For example, "walk in the street" might also be read as "walkin' the street," or at least calls that term to mind ~ hinting at black dialect or colloquial usage. The illustrations match the dreamy mood of the poem. They show Willie as a young black child in an urban setting. For those reasons, the book is categorized as multi-cultural and the style might be considered somewhat dated. Actually, the poem itself has only a few clues as to setting: it mentions such things as a street, a house, and a back yard. Willie might as easily be a young boy as a girl, except for an oddly placed "she" at the end of one stanza. The book is definitely not "ordinary" and might be of particular interest to educators or collectors of children's books.