One frosty winter’s night, a pure white calf is born on an ordinary muddy farm in the light of a silver moon. This is the legendary Mooncalf, whose arrival has been foretold since the dawn of time.
Hare knows immediately that if the calf is not saved it will be the end of all things.
According to a dream passed down from animal to animal, if the calf dies a great terribleness will come – rising seas, a plague, skies raining down fire… and Hare vows to protect Mooncalf with his life.
Upon Mooncalf’s arrival, the old bull summons all the animals of the farm and tells them of this dream, warning that they must help Hare in his mission before it is too late.
But it’s easier said than done, and soon Hare realises that he must act on his own…
A stunning prequel to the award-winning bestselling The Last Wild trilogy, with themes of climate change, hope and friendship.
Ok, confession time. I have not read The Last Wild. I'm sorry for it now; I enjoyed this, but I think it would have been even better if I'd caught the nods and winks. For instance, so much weight is given to one character mentioning another, the mentioned one must be important in Last. And, of course, this story doesn't really end, as it leads into those books.
As a story I did enjoy it. It calls to mind Watership Down, and that book about hares that I read as a child and never remember the name of. (Helpful, I know.) A lot of books with animal main characters have them act so human that they aren't really animals any more. This one avoids that and keeps them all animals in behaviour.
I'll be watching out for the rest of the series from now on, as I'd really enjoy reading them to see where this one leads, and I really enjoyed this. It's a great, touching read that I think will do really well.
The Wild Before publishes on the 19th August, 2021. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
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