Wutaryoo - by Nilah Magruder (Hardcover)

About the Book

Wutaryoo enjoys hearing other animal's origin stories but wants to learn her own, so she sets out on a journey on which she meets many strange creatures and learns important truths.

Book Synopsis

Wutaryoo is tired of not knowing who she is or where she comes from--so she sets off on an adventure to reveal her true history in this essential picture book about telling your own story and finding your own truth.

"What are you?" "Where are you from?" "Who are your people?"

These are questions the mysterious creature known as Wutaryoo has been asked all her life--and she has no idea how to answer. The rabbit was born from a gardener's hole. The wolf was born in moonlight. All the animals know their origin stories, so why doesn't Wutaryoo know her own?

Confused and curious, she sets off on a journey to discover her own ancestry in this heartwarming, relatable tale for young readers as well as recent and soon-to-be graduates.

Review Quotes

"Employing beguiling characters and dreamlike artwork, Magruder makes a case for individual worth: it's not illustrious ancestry that makes creatures special, but what they do themselves--and the generosity with which they share their experience." -- Publishers Weekly

"Through the highly entertaining origin stories here, aided by color-drenched digital illustrations, Wutaryoo's realization that you are the story you live may be especially relevant to adopted, foster, and donor-conceived children." -- Booklist

"Magruder's training as an animator is evident in both the perspectives of the digital illustrations and the use of light to create wonderfully contrasting moods. The text is well turned, with the philosophical appeal of a mythical hero's journey." -- Kirkus Reviews

"[M]ore discerning readers may identify several possible interpretations of Wutaryoo's story, while all will get the message that they have the power to create their own story and define who they are.... A warmhearted tale of the journey to self-discovery." -- School Library Journal

About the Author

Nilah Magruder is the author of M.F.K., a middle-grade graphic novel and winner of the Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity, and How to Find a Fox, a picture book. She has also written comics for Marvel and illustrated for Disney, Scholastic, and Penguin. When she is not working in her home studio in Western Maryland, Nilah is watching movies, growing herbs, and fighting her cat for control of her desk chair. www.nilahmagruder.com, Twitter: @nilaffle, Instagram: @nilahmagruder