Wild Journey – at a glance
The School Reading Lists’ five word review: Journeys, murmuration, decisions, feathers, family.
Children’s book title: Wild Journey. A Flight of Stories Across Deserts & Forests, Cities & Seas.
Children’s author: A. M. Dassu.
Children’s illustrator: Joe Lillington.
Genre: Children’s fiction.
Published by: Zephyr.
ISBN: 9781035911899.
Recommended for children aged: 7+.
First published: Paperback November 2025.
This children’s book is ideal for: reading before discussing what family is, whether it is our own, a found family, or the packs and groups animals form.
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Our review:
Wild Journey contains five heart-warming stories which begin in Egypt with a murmuration of starlings. The illustrations complement the stories beautifully and add enormously to the enjoyment of this book. The main protagonists are all children – two girls and three boys – who each have important decisions to make.
Jamal is in Egypt visiting his grandparents and, after watching the murmuration, rescues a starling injured by a falcon. A lonely boy, he is reluctant to release the bird back into the wild.
Ella, on holiday with her family in Morocco, takes a camel ride into the Sahara Desert. She goes to look for water after using it all. The starlings gather above her, helping her to find her way back when she gets lost.
Aaron is in Spain with his scientist dad when he comes across a wolf who isn’t quite as scary as he’d thought. The starlings are close by, but it is just one feather that gets him out of trouble.
Isabelle and her annoying baby sister are holidaying in the French countryside, where her grand-père always tells her a bedtime story. The tale he tells about her uncle Louis and a murmuration makes her realise that being a big sister is actually quite fun.
Yusuf has already done his running and is now very far from home. The murmuration flies above his new playground, and his confusion is clear to see in this story’s illustrations, as is his relief when he realises that some things are the same the world over.
Our verdict:
This is a lovely book that could be read over several sessions to give each story its own time in the spotlight. Although three of the children run or wander off into danger, this is a positive, loving book that gives readers the chance to understand that actions have consequences and how things could have been done differently.
Although the murmuration is at the heart of the first tale, it has a different, though no less important, role in each of the other four stories. The five children all make discoveries about themselves, their families and their surroundings that will leave them with positive experiences and memories.
Teaching points and book club discussion ideas:
- Have you ever seen a murmuration? Do you think the illustrator captures the amazing spectacle these gatherings provide?
- The five children all learn from the adventures they have in this book. Which story did you enjoy the most, and do you know why?
- Jamal, Ella and Aaron all wander away from their families for different reasons. Do you think Aaron told his dad about the wolf? If so, what do you think he said?
- How clever was Isabelle’s grand-père to tell her a story about having an annoying little sister?
- Yusuf has already done his running. Can you imagine being in a class where no one speaks your language and you don’t speak theirs?
Many thanks to Zephyr Books for the review copy.
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