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Q&A | May 16, 2012

Mark Kurlansky: IMG Powell's Q&A: Mark Kurlansky

0 comments By Mark Kurlansky

Describe your latest book. It is titled Birdseye: The Adventures of a Curious Man, and it is coming out in May from Doubleday. This is the first... Continue »
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    Birdseye: The Adventures of a Curious Man

    Mark Kurlansky 9780385527057
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Wildwood Signed Special Edition

by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis

Wildwood Signed Special Edition Cover

 

Special Powells.com Offer!

Exclusive edition available now!

Printed in a very limited run, this hand-bound cloth edition includes these features:

  • a custom-designed slipcase, illustrated by Ellis
  • colored endpapers
  • a two-color foil-stamped cover, designed by Ellis
  • a signed print of an exclusive illustration by Ellis
  • a three-color fold-out map (15 x 12 inches) bound into the book
  • each copy is signed and numbered by Meloy and Ellis

Click here to view larger images of the book, the illustration, and the map.

Synopses & Reviews

From Powells.com:

Click here to read a conversation with Meloy and Ellis about why they wanted to create this special edition.

Publisher Comments:

Prue McKeel's life is ordinary. At least until her baby brother is abducted by a murder of crows. And then things get really weird.

You see, on every map of Portland, Oregon, there is a big splotch of green on the edge of the city labeled "I.W." This stands for "Impassable Wilderness." No one's ever gone in — or at least returned to tell of it.

And this is where the crows take her brother.

So begins an adventure that will take Prue and her friend Curtis deep into the Impassable Wilderness. There they uncover a secret world in the midst of violent upheaval, a world full of warring creatures, peaceable mystics, and powerful figures with the darkest intentions. And what begins as a rescue mission becomes something much bigger as the two friends find themselves entwined in a struggle for the very freedom of this wilderness.

A wilderness the locals call Wildwood.

Wildwood is a spellbinding tale full of wonder, danger, and magic that juxtaposes the thrill of a secret world and modern city life. Original and fresh yet steeped in classic fantasy, this is a novel that could have only come from the imagination of Colin Meloy, celebrated for his inventive and fantastic storytelling as the lead singer of the Decemberists. With dozens of intricate and beautiful illustrations by award-winning artist Carson Ellis, Wildwood is truly a new classic for the twenty-first century.

Review:

"Wildwood is a beautiful object and a beautiful read. One half fairy tale, one half coming of age story, one half unrepentantly gorgeous work of art, this book is overflowing with gifts." Jonathan Safran Foer

Review:

"Dark and whimsical, with a true and uncanny sense of otherworldliness, Wildwood is the heir to a great tradition of stories of wild childhood adventure. It snatched me up and carried me off into a world I didn't want to leave." Michael Chabon

Review:

"A satisfying blend of fantasy, adventure story, eco-fable and political satire with broad appeal; especially recommended for preteen boys." Kirkus Reviews

Review:

"This book is like the wild, strange forest it describes. It is full of suspense and danger and frightening things the world has never seen, and once I stepped inside I never wanted to leave." Lemony Snicket

Review:

"Meloy has an immediately recognizable verbal style and creates a fully realized fantasy world....Ellis's illustrations perfectly capture the original world and contribute to the feel of an instant timeless classic. Further adventures in Wildwood cannot come quickly enough." School Library Journal (starred review)
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Video

About the Author

Colin Meloy once wrote Ray Bradbury a letter, informing him that he "considered himself an author too." He was ten. Since then, Colin has gone on to be the singer and songwriter for the band the Decemberists, where he channels all of his weird ideas into weird songs. This is his first time channeling those ideas into a novel.

As a kid, Carson Ellis loved exploring the woods, drawing, and nursing wounded animals back to health. As an adult, little has changed — except she is now the acclaimed illustrator of several books for children, including Lemony Snicket's The Composer Is Dead, Dillweed's Revenge by Florence Parry Heide, and The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart.

Colin and Carson live with their son, Hank, in Portland, Oregon, quite near the Impassable Wilderness.

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What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 8 comments:
lisaard2002, January 14, 2012 (view all comments by lisaard2002)
Wildwood is a fantastical, timeless story blending modern-day with vintage fun.

Prue is a thirteen year old girl living in the St. Johns neighborhood in Portland. One day, while minding her toddler brother Mac, a murder of crows suddenly appears and spirits away Mac to the impassable wilderness (Forest Park) across the river. And so begins Prue's effort to get her brother back. Along the way she'll be joined by Curtis, a neighbor and schoolmate. Prue will meet animals that talk, good guys and bad guys, mystics, magic and danger.

The writing is smart. The description of the forest is evocative, effectively showing it as a part of something more, how all the creatures are connected to the woods. The vocabulary shows great breadth, often reading above the grade level of 6.3 I found for the book. The story blends elements of fables and fairy tales while maintaining its originality.

Just the look of the book alone recalls children's books from the 1960-1970s. Crisply detailed illustrations appear throughout - sometimes just a sketch in the corner of a page and othertimes a full-color glossy page that stands out from the written pages. These are wonderful. I expect a full marketing campaign for Wildwood posters alone.

At 540+ pages, Wildwood is a meaty read. However, the action and story will keep readers flipping those pages. Highly recommended.
Lisa Ard, Author of Fright Flight, Dream Seekers Book One
Portland, Oregon
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angela.mg.rabideau, January 12, 2012 (view all comments by angela.mg.rabideau)
Sooo good. I love anything these two do. Beautiful edition, beautiful book, beautiful people.
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Eclypse, January 5, 2012 (view all comments by Eclypse)
With print slowly dying out and electronic publishing (ie. Nooks, Kindles, and iPads...Oh my!) climbing to the top, it is so refreshing to have this edition come to fruition. It's a real gem!
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780062130280
Author:
Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis
Publisher:
HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS
Illustrator:
Ellis, Carson
Author:
Meloy, Colin
Binding:
HARDCOVER
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Related Subjects

Children's » Middle Readers » General
Children's » New Arrivals
Children's » Science Fiction and Fantasy » General
Rare Books » Children's and Illustrated Classics

Wildwood Signed Special Edition New Hardcover
0 stars - 0 reviews
$100.00 In Stock
Product details pages HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS - English 9780062130280 Reviews:
"Review" by , "Wildwood is a beautiful object and a beautiful read. One half fairy tale, one half coming of age story, one half unrepentantly gorgeous work of art, this book is overflowing with gifts."
"Review" by , "Dark and whimsical, with a true and uncanny sense of otherworldliness, Wildwood is the heir to a great tradition of stories of wild childhood adventure. It snatched me up and carried me off into a world I didn't want to leave."
"Review" by , "A satisfying blend of fantasy, adventure story, eco-fable and political satire with broad appeal; especially recommended for preteen boys."
"Review" by , "This book is like the wild, strange forest it describes. It is full of suspense and danger and frightening things the world has never seen, and once I stepped inside I never wanted to leave."
"Review" by , "Meloy has an immediately recognizable verbal style and creates a fully realized fantasy world....Ellis's illustrations perfectly capture the original world and contribute to the feel of an instant timeless classic. Further adventures in Wildwood cannot come quickly enough."
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