A New Kind of Wild - by Zara González Hoang (Hardcover)

About the Book

"When Ren moves to Ava's city, he feels lost without the green and magic of his home, but not everything in the city is what meets the eye and Ren discovers that nothing makes you feel at home quite like a friend"--

Book Synopsis

This sweet author-illustrator debut celebrates imagination, the magic of friendship, and all the different ways we make a new place feel like home.

For Ren, home is his grandmother's little house, and the lush forest that surrounds it. Home is a place of magic and wonder, filled with all the fantastical friends that Ren dreams up. Home is where his imagination can run wild.

For Ava, home is a brick and cement city, where there's always something to do or see or hear. Home is a place bursting with life, where people bustle in and out like a big parade. Home is where Ava is never lonely because there's always someone to share in her adventures.

When Ren moves to Ava's city, he feels lost without his wild. How will he ever feel at home in a place with no green and no magic, where everything is exactly what it seems? Of course, not everything in the city is what meets the eye, and as Ren discovers, nothing makes you feel at home quite like a friend.

Inspired by the stories her father told her about moving from Puerto Rico to New York as a child, Zara González Hoang's author-illustrator debut is an imaginative exploration of the true meaning of "home."

Review Quotes

"A wise and gentle lesson on making and helping friends." --Kirkus

"Brilliantly hued...This [book] will be helpful for compare-and-contrast discussions as well as conversations about moving from one country to another." --SLJ

"A lovely read for children experiencing displacement or changes in habitat...or are dealing with loneliness...Pair with Natalie Becher and Emily France's Krit's Dreams of Dragon Fruit and Kate McMullan's As Warm as the Sun." --Booklist

"This will particularly appeal to youngsters negotiating their own uprooting, and it may encourage audiences to look at their surroundings with fresh eyes." --BCCB

"A New Kind of Wild is the best kind of picture book...I love that I recognized Puerto Rico from page one...and I can't wait to proudly have this on our shelves. Zara Gonzalez Hoang is a dazzling new talent." --Cristina Russell, Books & Books, Coral Gables, Fla. via Shelf Awareness

About the Author

Zara González Hoang grew up in a little bungalow in the frozen tundra of Minnesota. great white North. Surrounded by snow she spent her days dreaming, doodling, and listening to the colorful stories of her dad's life growing up in Puerto Rico.These days, she lives outside DC with her family.