Winner of the 2023 Schneider Family Book Award

When the fates of a snow leopard, a child, and an ancient forest collide, the unimaginable can happen. Perfect for fans of Pax and The One and Only Ivan. * "Harrington packs her memorably atmospheric debut with compelling issues, but her sharply felt portrayals of two vulnerable youngsters of different species bonding as they find their ways in hostile worlds will make the deepest impression." - Kirkus Reviews, starred review * "Both character arcs sparkle with life thanks to Harrington's poignant, immersive prose…nuanced and empowering." - Publisher's Weekly, starred review "Reads like a classic. I loved it!" - Pam Muñoz Ryan, author of the bestsellers Esperanza Rising and the Newbery Honor book Echo "Wildoak makes us believe the world may well be as mysterious and as lovely and as possible as we had hoped." - Gary D. Schmidt, author of Just Like That and the Newbery Honor book The Wednesday Wars Maggie Stephens's stutter makes school especially hard. She will do almost anything to avoid speaking in class or calling attention to herself. So when her unsympathetic father threatens to send her away for so-called "treatment," she reluctantly agrees to her mother's intervention plan: a few weeks in the fresh air of Wildoak Forest, visiting a grandfather she hardly knows. It is there, in an extraordinary twist of fate, that she encounters an abandoned snow leopard cub, an exotic gift to a wealthy Londoner that proved too wild to domesticate. But once the cub's presence is discovered by others, danger follows, and Maggie soon realizes that time is running out, not only for the leopard, but for herself and the forest as well. ​Told in alternating voices, Wildoak shimmers with beauty, compassion, and unforgettable storytelling as it explores the delicate interconnectedness of the human, animal, and natural worlds. Praise for Wildoak: * "Harrington packs her memorably atmospheric debut with compelling issues, but her sharply felt portrayals of two vulnerable youngsters of different species bonding as they find their ways in hostile worlds will make the deepest impression. Tugs on ethical sensibilities and heartstrings with equal strength." - Kirkus Reviews, starred review * "Themes of compassion and conservation form the heartbeat of Harrington's eloquent 1963 England-set debut…Both character arcs sparkle with life thanks to Harrington's poignant, immersive prose…nuanced and empowering." - Publisher's Weekly, starred review "This tender and hopeful story, with a whisper of magical realism, reminds the reader that everyone struggles with something. C.C. Harrington's prose is beautiful, and she writes with a deep affection for the natural world. Wildoak reads like a classic. I loved it." - Pam Muñoz Ryan, Newbery Honor winning author of the bestsellers Echo and Esperanza Rising "Wildoak is one of those novels that makes us believe the world may well be as mysterious and as lovely and as possible as we had hoped. Maybe we can speak to animals in ways we never anticipated, and maybe we can sense consciousness in places we had never imagined, and maybe deep hurts can be overcome--the hurts of war, of humiliation, of pride. The rambunctious and sometimes frightening and sometimes incredibly funny story of Maggie and Rumpus is a story of how we might connect more deeply and more humanly-and so it is a story of immense hope. Read it, and be enlarged!" - Gary Schmidt, Newbery Honor winning author of The Wednesday Wars and Just Like That "This well-told story of a girl's stuttering journey leaps and purrs on the back of a beautiful snow leopard." - Vince Vawter, author of the Newbery Honor book, Paperboy "This immersive read crackles with gorgeous descriptions and heart-racing action. Maggie is a fierce and kindhearted protector of the natural world. Her own severe stutter is thoughtfully and realistic

Read by Camilia O'Grady

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