Product Description

FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING (2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1). ISBN: 9781406308150. HC in unclipped DJ. CONDITION: Brand new, v fine/v fine. Publisher: Walker Bros, 2008. Well wrapped so that book arrives in best possible condition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15279 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 80 pages

Review
"There really is nobody quite like Almond writing in children's or adult's fiction today." The Times"

About the Author
David Almond is the acclaimed author of Skellig, winner of the Whitbread Children's Award and the Carnegie Medal; Kit's Wilderness, winner of the Smarties Award Silver Medal, Highly Commended for the Carnegie Medal, and shortlisted for the Guardian Award; and The Fire-Eaters, winner of the Whitbread Award, the Smarties Gold Award and shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. He lives in Northumberland.

Customer Reviews

FANTASTIC!
An amazing read. I'm a year 6 teacher (10/11 year olds) and we have just bought all of our students a copy. They love it and it's the first book I've worked with that engages all of the children, regardless of ability. Dave McKean's illustrations are facinating and bring the story to life. At first we has some reservations about the fact that the Savage carried a knife, but this actually provided useful talking points.

David Almond on top form
This story seems to me the best thing David Almond has written since The Fire-Eaters. It tells (in a brief compass) of a boy who overcomes bitter resentment towards a bully (who mocks him over his father's death) by writing a story, which then comes partially to life in the real world, about a feral child who lives like a wild animal and with whom he can half identify himself. Almond fans will recognize a number of themes that Almond has made peculiarly his own -- family affection, bereavement, the need to come to terms with the darker side of human character, and the strange borderline between fantasy and reality. The numerous illustrations (which are an integral part of the work and not just an accompaniment) have an appropriate roughness to them, though writer and artist should have come to an agreement over the savage boy's dress -- skins in the text, but jeans in the illustrations.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too
This is a strange combination of picture book and novel for older readers that is unsettling at best. A young boy's fantasy, the story and the illustrations are both filled with raw emotions that border on frightening and reflects the main character's own experiences and feelings.

Blue's counselor advises him to try writing down his feelings to help deal with the pain of his father's death, but that really doesn't work very well. Then Blue starts to write a story about a wild child who lives in the woods and who, on occasion, kills and eats people.

His story tells about the savage child interacting with Blue and his sister, and how the Savage hates the boy, Hopper, that bullies Blue at school.

McKean's illustrations show a wild child who is bony and shirtless, armed with a knife. Blue begins to believe that the Savage may be real, since he is sure there is evidence that the Savage visits him while he sleeps.

The idea that what you write becomes real is not a new one, and when the bully, Hopper, receives a beating in his bedroom during the night, Blue is sure that his fantasy has become reality.

Almost a graphic novel, THE SAVAGE is filled with fast action, suspense, and characters that are realistic. It is an exciting story that should appeal to the imagination of reluctant readers, too.

Don't we all have a bit of the Savage lurking somewhere just beneath the surface?

Reviewed by: Grandma Bev