Kim Biddulph, Matt Ritchie, and Caroline Wickham-Jones
Forestry and Land Scotland, Free
ISBN 978-1916016019
Review AB
Download from: https://forestryandland.gov.scot/what-we-do/conservation/historic-environment-conservation/learning/into-the-wildwoods
This teaching resource is a companion to 2019’s The First Foresters (see CA 350), which focuses on the Neolithic occupants of Scotland’s woodlands. Into the Wildwoods delves further back in time, introducing the hunter-gatherers of the later Mesolithic (c.5800-4000 BC) in a way that will engage 8- to 12-year-olds, while also incorporating ideas about the natural world around them.
Aspects of the archaeological record are presented in in a highly accessible way, and the information presented is brought to life by the inventive characters and details of the Mesolithic world woven throughout the book.
This publication is also beautifully illustrated with colourful landscape drawings, lively cartoon characters, and useful photographs and maps. It encourages children to consider the connections between the prehistoric past and today, making it a wonderful resource for later primary school age children, and anyone else interested in the presentation of the Mesolithic.
This review appeared in CA 361. To find out more about subscribing to the magazine, click here.
