The Wild Kingdom

Gr 9 Up—This strange, abstract graphic novel defies easy categorization. Through the day-to-day life of a vaguely disaffected young man, Glenn Ganges, readers witness the uneasy relationship between humanity and the broader world of nature. For example, in the opening sections, the smear of a crushed insect takes on the form of the Nike "swoosh" while a pigeon, disoriented from eating fast food, wanders fatally into the path of a car. In the final scene, an eagle crashes into a power line and creates a domino effect that results in a worldwide apocalypse. The middle chapters are more opaque; scenes of contemporary angst and ennui overlap with snippets from bizarre advertisements and nonsensical animal facts. Beautifully packaged and intriguing, this book is unlikely to find a broad audience among high school students, but it will appeal most to those looking for a thought-provoking, modern, and unusual take on the human condition.—Douglas P. Davey, Halton Hills Public Library, Ontario, Canada