11 brilliant rewilding books
Published on: 20 Mawrth 2025
Author Brogen Murphy shares 11 must-read children's books about restoring wild places.
My debut middle-grade novel, Wildlands, is an action-packed survival story set in a near-future Britain, where most of northern England and southern Scotland has been turned into a vast rewilding project.
To celebrate Rewilding Day on 20 March, I've put together a list of fiction and non-fiction books for children. From future utopias (and dystopias) to present-day challenges, there's something for all ages to learn about the possibilities of rewilding, get inspired to take action, and start to dream big about just how wild our landscape could be.
Fiction
Where the World Turns Wild by Nicola Penfold (middle-grade)
50 years into the future and a tick-borne disease sees everyone living in sterile cities where nature is strictly banished. When things become too dangerous for Juniper and her little brother Bear in the city, the two set out on an impossible journey across a rewilded landscape.
This book is really impressive in its scale, from the vividly imagined dystopian city to the abandoned and overgrown world the two children must journey through. The sequel, When the Wild Calls, is just as thrilling.
Sky Dancer by Gill Lewis (middle-grade)
Joe has always loved the moorlands his father worked on: the wildness, the freedom, the peace. But now the whole community is divided over the fate of the hen harriers that nest up there and – as the gamekeeper's son – Joe is stuck right in the middle.
This well-researched story gives young readers a first-hand insight into conflicts over land. Who owns the land, and who decides what lives there? How do we balance tradition, economics, communities, and nature?
The Rewilders by Lindsay Littleton (middle-grade)
Esme expects a dull weekend — until she realises the abandoned kitten Gran found is actually a wild lynx, and growing fast! Determined to return it to the local rewilding project, she embarks on a risky mission with the school's 'bad boy' and the world's worst guard dog.
Like Sky Dancer, this story explores the perspective of a local landowner who was initially opposed to local reintroductions of wild predators. It highlights the concerns of sheep farmers who fear for their livestock, while capturing the magical thrill of our lost wild creatures.
Poppy Goes Wild by Nick Powell (7+)
Poppy loves Grandpa's stories of the farm in the old days, when otters swam in the river and peregrine falcons flew overhead. Yet modern farming techniques have driven them all away. Inspired, Poppy encourages Grandpa to make some changes – with marvellous results.
With a foreword by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, this story book takes younger readers through the steps that can ease our pressure on the countryside and give nature a chance to return.
When We Went Wild by Isabella Tree and Allira Tee (Picture book)
Nancy and Jake are farmers who use big machines and spray lots of chemicals – because that's what good farmers do. And yet, there is no wildlife living on their farm... until Nancy has an idea. What if they went wild instead?
As the founder of the Knepp Estate, Isabella Tree is seen as the queen of rewilding in Britain. Her fiction is based on the real work done at Knepp. Also check out When the Storks Came Home.
Our Wild Garden by Daniel Seton and Pieter Fannes (Picture book)
When Ali and Poppy hear about wild gardening at school, they transform their ordinary back garden into a beautiful, slightly untidy haven of wildflowers, butterflies, hedgehogs, fox cubs, migratory birds, and hummingbird hawk moths.
This book focuses on a space where children can have a real impact - their own back gardens (if they're lucky enough to have one). A great introduction to local wildlife and what you can do to encourage it.
The Bison and the Butterfly: An Ecosystem Story by Alice Hemming and Leschnikoff Nancy (Picture book)
Bison is big, hairy and a bit clumsy... so why anybody would want to be her friend? Wise Woodpecker teachers her that everybody likes different things, and soon Bison meets many creatures who love her big, shaggy ways.
A gentle way for younger readers to look at species' niches and interactions, framed as friendships and celebrating differences. Inspired by the reintroduction of bison at the Wilder Blean Wilding Project, it includes an explanation of the science behind rewilding.
Non-fiction
Rewild - Can Nature Heal Our World? (Explodapedia) by Ben Martynoga and Moose Allain (12+)
Rewild is an exploration of how we can welcome the wild on both a personal and an epic scale. It looks at how river-nurturing wolves, tree-toppling beavers and climate-warrior whales could all help us protect, revive and restore our planet to its full glory.
Wilding: How to Bring Wildlife Back - The Illustrated Guide by Isabella Tree and Angela Harding (9-11)
This is both the success story of Knepp and a guide to bringing wildlife back where you live. With lino prints and watercolours, photographs from Knepp, and easy in-garden activities, this book encourages you to slow down, observe the natural world, and understand the huge potential for life right on your doorstep.
Rewilding: Bringing Wildlife Back Where It Belongs by David A. Steen and Chiara Fedele (8-10)
An acclaimed conservation biologist and science communicator introduces the scientists determined to create a greener future. From wolves to giant tortoises to beavers, the book looks at the heartwarming true stories of rewilding around the globe. By the end, kids will be left with a key message: it's not too late to fix the planet.
Rewild the World at Bedtime: Hopeful Stories from Mother Nature by Emily Hawkins and Ella Beech (5-8)
This enchanting read soothes little ones with 20 bedtime stories about rewilding projects from across the globe that are bringing animals back to the wild.
Wildlands by Brogen Murphy is available now.
Topics: Environment, Nature, Features
