Wild Boy: The Real Life of the Savage of Aveyron - Hardcover

Losure, Mary

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0763656690 ISBN 13: 9780763656690

Publisher: Candlewick, 2013

Synopsis

What happens when society finds a wild boy alone in the woods and tries to civilize him? A true story from the author of The Fairy Ring.

One day in 1798, woodsmen in southern France returned from the forest having captured a naked boy. He had been running wild, digging for food, and was covered with scars. In the village square, people gathered around, gaping and jabbering in words the boy didn’t understand. And so began the curious public life of the boy known as the Savage of Aveyron, whose journey took him all the way to Paris. Though the wild boy’s world was forever changed, some things stayed the same: sometimes, when the mountain winds blew, “he looked up at the sky, made sounds deep in his throat, and gave great bursts of laughter.” In a moving work of narrative nonfiction that reads like a novel, Mary Losure invests another compelling story from history with vivid and arresting new life.
Back matter includes an author’s note, source notes, and a bibliography.

About this title

About the Author:

Mary Losure, author of The Fairy Ring, has worked as a reporter for Minnesota Public Radio and a contributor to National Public Radio. She lives with her husband in Minnesota.

Timothy Basil Ering is the illustrator of many award-winning books, including Kate DiCamillo’s Newbery Medal–winning The Tale of Despereaux. He lives in Massachusetts.

Review:

Losure follows up The Fairy Ring...with another novelistic true story with obvious appeal to young readers...Losure smoothly navigates a story that, due to few records, is incomplete, clearly denoting speculation without ever losing narrative flow.
—Booklist

The well-documented case of a feral child who didn’t speak, ran on all fours, and was captured in post-Revolution France and studied by a succession of Enlightenment-influenced thinkers gets an interesting, well-informed retelling.
—Kirkus Reviews

Losure brings life to the true story of a boy discovered living wild in southern France near the end of the French Revolution...While the pace is unhurried, a fascinating story (along with large margins and wide spacing) makes this a quick read that becomes more intriguing as it unfolds.
—Publishers Weekly

It’s a fascinating look at an unusual historical figure, a stylish yet accessible read.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

In understated, atmospheric prose, Losure carefully relates the recorded observations of the “men of science” who examined and/or educated the wild boy, finding the evocative details that hinted at his inner life while painting a vivid picture of the misty forests and hilltops the boy would have called home. Smudgy, gestural charcoal drawings accompany the text in this beautifully produced book, depicting the boy’s struggles as his (usually) well-meaning captors attempted to domesticate him. ... Abundant source notes and a strong bibliography make this lyrical, readable book a wonderful nonfiction choice.
—School Library Journal

Losure’s first nonfiction book turns a mysterious scientific case about a feral boy into an enjoyable story about the human spirit. Through well-documented notes from other sources, Losure eloquently creates a fascinating story that reads more like fiction than nonfiction.
—VOYA

The gentle and intimate tone makes Victor’s alienation heartbreaking, as do the simple but eloquent black-and-white sketches, one per each short chapter.
—The Horn Book

[A] touching story that readers will find compelling.
—Library Media Connection

This beautiful little volume for readers ages 9-14 is suffused with tender pathos, deriving not least from Timothy Basil Ering's evocative, softly smudged drawings of the Savage...
—The Wall Street Journal

About this edition

• Publisher: Candlewick
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0763656690
• ISBN 13: 9780763656690
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 176
• Illustrator: Ering Timothy Basil