Prickletrims Go Wild

Marie Dorléans is an award-winning children’s author and illustrator from France. Her picture book The Night Walk won the prestigious Landerneau Children’s Book Prize in 2019 and was named a New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children's Book in 2021. She currently lives in Strasbourg, France.

'Dorleans employs longer descriptions in the beginning; she trims the text as the visuals dominate, effectively conveying life at either extreme - the rigidity of micro-management and the over-stimulation of chaos… A clarion call to take time to smell the flowers - and to let yourself and your garden go a little wild.' -- Kirkus Reviews'Broad comedy pokes fun at those trying to exercise control over untamable forces, while spreads remind readers of the magnificence of nature left to its own devices.'-- Publishers Weekly'Dorléans has found another way to use a picture book to promote the counterintuitive coziness of the great outdoors... Glorious.'-- Shelf Awareness'Quirky characters and an amusing story. This was thoroughly enjoyable, as were the fabulous illustrations, which cleverly changed with the story.'-- Peters, Book of the Week 'Although the story is wonderfully silly and exaggerated the message is profound.'-- Kaleidoscope Magazine'A quirky and funny picture book. The gorgeous hand-drawn multi-media artwork using a graphite pencil and finished using digital media go from lines and patterns in grey hues to a wonderful vibrancy as the garden explodes into colour.'-- Our World In Wonder'The illustrations are the real standout in this offering. Hand drawn, and finished digitally, they are filled with enticing patterns and delightful mayhem. This book rejoices in the natural world around us and teaches young readers to appreciate it.'-- Puget Sound Council Reviews'I love this book’s personality: it's exploding with imagination and originality, just like the garden at its center.'-- Three Lives and Company'Marie's illustrations are so vibrant and full of joy, perfectly complementing her text. This story is a very timely reminder that we all need to learn to live alongside and in harmony with the natural world and that, in doing so, we too will find joy in what it brings.'-- Catherine Ward, author of By the Beaver Pool'The transformation of the Prickletrims' controlled environment into a wild one reminds us of the resilience and beauty of nature while revealing a metaphor for the human capacity to embrace change and find joy in unpredictability. This is a book that encourages readers to find the magic in letting go and perhaps will inspire children to form a new appreciation for the wildness on their doorstep.'-- StorybookMamma (Instagram)'A fun romp with nature.'-- PicturebookPile (Instagram)'Brilliant and beautiful... For anyone studying plants, pshe about perfectionism or even looking at work and jobs, this book would be a brilliant read.'-- ThePictureBookProfessor (Instagram)'A playful celebration of nature and wilderness with STUNNING artwork - very unique and distinctive.'-- TheKidsBookstagrammer (Instagram)'This has been one of my most favourite books to read for Earth Month. It's a brilliant story to read all year round, in fact, or to add to any summer or garden collection.'-- KidsCornerBookClub (Instagram)'Love the celebration of untamed nature, the growing and changing of ideas, and the funny style of this one!'-- LittleReadersFutureLeaders (Instagram)'This book is beautifully written, and the illustrations really make you think about the life of the Prickletrim family and their way of embracing nature.'-- OurWorldOfWonder (Instagram)'Unique and poignant! An ode to untamed nature and its effect on us.'-- FroggyReadTeach (Instagram)'An adorable picture book about a family that celebrates nature.'-- NetGalley Reviewer 'I love the illustrations.'-- KidsReadTheWorld (Instagram)'Can't help but make you laugh.'-- FunReadsForKids (Instagram)'This inviting and innovative story is full of delights on each and every spread... Full of concise geometric patterns at the start before bursting with the colours and textures of nature.'-- OliviaTheLibrarian (Instagram)Praise for The Night Walk:'Awash in nocturnal blue, Dorléans's graphite pencil illustrations of a family of nighttime explorers evoke a luminous sense of wonder.' -- Jessica Agudelo, New York Times'Narrated by one of the children, the prose shines with sensory acuity as the family leaves a village behind them with a particular location in mind. Navy washes overlay graphite pencil and digital illustrations, with fine-lined detail so startlingly observed that readers will feel immersed in each expansive spread.'-- Publishers Weekly, Starred Review'The poetic, evocative text immerses readers in a nocturnal world… This hushed, intimate picture book creates a respite from the demands of the daytime world and pulls readers into a moment of pure wonder and peace.'-- The Horn Book Magazine, Starred Review'Beautifully composed and often striking… This rewarding picture book invites children to experience a memorable encounter with the natural world.'-- Booklist, Starred Review'Watercolor and graphite pencil illustrations depict an enveloping nocturnal world through saturations of indigo. Young readers' hearts will quicken, feeling embraced by night made real with breathtaking, full-bleed washes of blue that stretch across double-page spreads… Urgency, exhilaration, and anticipation make the walk's conclusion, a luminous, lemony daybreak, all the more powerful.'-- Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review