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The Rewilders
After Esme's gran accidentally steals a lynx kitten, Esme and school 'bad boy' Calum, take on a dangerous mission to return it to the wild in the Scottish Highlands
200 pages, Paperback
First published March 24, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 21, 2022
I loved The Rewilders! As a teacher, I look for balance of argument and genuine thought-provoking content to help pupils make sense of the world, as well as a cracking, pacy story which will draw them in. This has both, in bucketloads.
Perhaps my favourite aspect of the novel though is the authentic portrayal of the dynamics between youngsters - power hierarchies at school, prejudice, loyalties (however misguided) and petty squabbles. It sends the message that as a young person you have the right to choose your own friends, be your own person, make your own decisions - and that you need not be defined by your label.
A fantastic read and highly, highly recommended!
Perhaps my favourite aspect of the novel though is the authentic portrayal of the dynamics between youngsters - power hierarchies at school, prejudice, loyalties (however misguided) and petty squabbles. It sends the message that as a young person you have the right to choose your own friends, be your own person, make your own decisions - and that you need not be defined by your label.
A fantastic read and highly, highly recommended!
October 28, 2022
Occasionally you’ll find a book that immediately immerses you and this was one for me. Only a couple of pages in, I was wholly transported to the Scottish Highlands and could picture the setting and hear the characters’ voices so clearly: I was completely hooked!
This novel is fast paced and multi dimensional. It sympathetically deals with both sides of the rewilding argument and also gives a realistic glimpse into life as a teenager and fitting in / peer pressure / being different and all that goes with it.
All of the characters were exceptionally well drawn with a superb bit of scooby-soo villainy thrown in for good measure.
A very satisfying conclusion wrapped up this wonderful read which was over all too quickly. I will be recommending this to my Y6 book club and class.
😻😻😻😻😻
This novel is fast paced and multi dimensional. It sympathetically deals with both sides of the rewilding argument and also gives a realistic glimpse into life as a teenager and fitting in / peer pressure / being different and all that goes with it.
All of the characters were exceptionally well drawn with a superb bit of scooby-soo villainy thrown in for good measure.
A very satisfying conclusion wrapped up this wonderful read which was over all too quickly. I will be recommending this to my Y6 book club and class.
😻😻😻😻😻
December 27, 2022
Finally got this to the top of the pile - having read The Titanic Detective Agency I had to read this too!
Esme and her mum are on the way to Esme's Gran's house. Esme is not happy, she was supposed to go to Isobel's party on Monday, now Isobel said they weren't going to be friends any more. Not spend the long weekend with Gran. But her mum had to go to America for work and she couldn't go to stay with Dad because of his new family. But Gran didn't open the door as usual, just a crack open and said goodbye to her mum and told Esme to go around the back! What the heck was Gran up to? Esme went round and found Gran's friend Sadie and Callum sitting in Gran's shed. Callum was the misfit from school, the one Isobel taunted and Esme laughed when she did. He wasn't invited to Isobel's party - the only one in the class who wasn't, and Isobel made sure he knew what she thought of him. He lived with Sadie but no one really knew whether she was a relative or a foster.
But it looks like Esme is going to be spending her weekend with Callum and not Gran even. Gran has done something silly and she and Sadie have hatched a plan to put it right. Gran picked up a stray kitten on the Rothiecraig estate, only it turns out it's not a sweet little pussy cat. It's part of the estate's rewilding scheme and it's a lynx! A lynx that's made a bit of a mess of Gran's house, which is why she wasn't letting Mum in. The plan is for Callum and Esme to trek across to Rothiecraig with Cora (the lynx) and get her back into the lynx enclosure hopefully so that she can reunite with her mother. Esme is even less happy, she can't go to the party and she will be spending the weekend camping and walking with Callum. Sadie and Gran have bought all the equipment needed, even a new coat.
Each chapter of the book swaps between the character of Esme and Callum. Through the story they meet Luka, a young farmer who is worried about his sheep, he thinks the wolves that are also part of the rewilding are loose and killing them. But the three children come to realise that something else is going on. Callum and Esme having decided to call a truce throughout the weekend learn a lot about each other. Esme learns what she likes about herself, and it isn't her friendship with Isobel.
This book addresses the rewilding schemes currently being mooted in Scotland and elsewhere, these animals were part of our landscape once. They were the top predators, but were hunted to extinction in this country. Can they be brought back or is it to late?
But also the bullying that some children have to put up with, and others go along with because they are scared of being on the other side, on the receiving end, of the nastiness. Both children's characters are well written. They each have their own issues to deal with.
Loved the book which was donated by the publisher following a request from me.
Esme and her mum are on the way to Esme's Gran's house. Esme is not happy, she was supposed to go to Isobel's party on Monday, now Isobel said they weren't going to be friends any more. Not spend the long weekend with Gran. But her mum had to go to America for work and she couldn't go to stay with Dad because of his new family. But Gran didn't open the door as usual, just a crack open and said goodbye to her mum and told Esme to go around the back! What the heck was Gran up to? Esme went round and found Gran's friend Sadie and Callum sitting in Gran's shed. Callum was the misfit from school, the one Isobel taunted and Esme laughed when she did. He wasn't invited to Isobel's party - the only one in the class who wasn't, and Isobel made sure he knew what she thought of him. He lived with Sadie but no one really knew whether she was a relative or a foster.
But it looks like Esme is going to be spending her weekend with Callum and not Gran even. Gran has done something silly and she and Sadie have hatched a plan to put it right. Gran picked up a stray kitten on the Rothiecraig estate, only it turns out it's not a sweet little pussy cat. It's part of the estate's rewilding scheme and it's a lynx! A lynx that's made a bit of a mess of Gran's house, which is why she wasn't letting Mum in. The plan is for Callum and Esme to trek across to Rothiecraig with Cora (the lynx) and get her back into the lynx enclosure hopefully so that she can reunite with her mother. Esme is even less happy, she can't go to the party and she will be spending the weekend camping and walking with Callum. Sadie and Gran have bought all the equipment needed, even a new coat.
Each chapter of the book swaps between the character of Esme and Callum. Through the story they meet Luka, a young farmer who is worried about his sheep, he thinks the wolves that are also part of the rewilding are loose and killing them. But the three children come to realise that something else is going on. Callum and Esme having decided to call a truce throughout the weekend learn a lot about each other. Esme learns what she likes about herself, and it isn't her friendship with Isobel.
This book addresses the rewilding schemes currently being mooted in Scotland and elsewhere, these animals were part of our landscape once. They were the top predators, but were hunted to extinction in this country. Can they be brought back or is it to late?
But also the bullying that some children have to put up with, and others go along with because they are scared of being on the other side, on the receiving end, of the nastiness. Both children's characters are well written. They each have their own issues to deal with.
Loved the book which was donated by the publisher following a request from me.
April 2, 2022
I really loved this book! I had it preordered, because I just adore Littleson's books (she was actually one of my teachers in primary school, also one of the only teachers i really loved! so maybe i'm biased, but honestly, this book and all her others are just fantastic!) it didn't disappoint at all!
Firstly, it's a story about two kids forced to hang out together in order to get a young lynx back into the estate where they are trying to rewild scotland with wolves and lynx. (the idea that, in simplistic terms, the landscape is being damaged because there are no apex predators to keep down the population of the deer, so they eat all the tree sprouts, not allowing the natural landscape to appear, so if we were to reintroduce animals like wolves and lynx to scotland, it would help with this issue. however, on the other side, farmers are concerned that these animals might turns to their sheep or other animals as easy prey, and cause them to lose their livestock and income)
what i love about this book most is that it tackles some great issues without becoming too preachy or making them too complicated for children to understand. there's the rewilding, where both sides are shown fairly, never stating one is better than the other, just laying out both sides of the arguement. then there are the problems the children face. Esme is kind of stuck in a toxic friendship with a girl who is basically a bully and queen bee of their school, and doesn't want to lose her, but starts to realise that her friends comments towards other kids and even towards Esme herself, are cruel and hurtful, and maybe she doesn't want to be part of that any more. then there's Callum, a boy who is shipped from foster to foster home, struggling to make friends, always the outsider and relentlessly teased by esme's horrible 'friend'. he's finally found a home that suits him, but struggles with school.
again, all of this is treated brilliantly. there's no 'magic' solution to the kids problems, but they are addressed with respect and understanding.
overall this is a great little adventure story, but with some real depth to the story as well. I really, highly recommend it!
Firstly, it's a story about two kids forced to hang out together in order to get a young lynx back into the estate where they are trying to rewild scotland with wolves and lynx. (the idea that, in simplistic terms, the landscape is being damaged because there are no apex predators to keep down the population of the deer, so they eat all the tree sprouts, not allowing the natural landscape to appear, so if we were to reintroduce animals like wolves and lynx to scotland, it would help with this issue. however, on the other side, farmers are concerned that these animals might turns to their sheep or other animals as easy prey, and cause them to lose their livestock and income)
what i love about this book most is that it tackles some great issues without becoming too preachy or making them too complicated for children to understand. there's the rewilding, where both sides are shown fairly, never stating one is better than the other, just laying out both sides of the arguement. then there are the problems the children face. Esme is kind of stuck in a toxic friendship with a girl who is basically a bully and queen bee of their school, and doesn't want to lose her, but starts to realise that her friends comments towards other kids and even towards Esme herself, are cruel and hurtful, and maybe she doesn't want to be part of that any more. then there's Callum, a boy who is shipped from foster to foster home, struggling to make friends, always the outsider and relentlessly teased by esme's horrible 'friend'. he's finally found a home that suits him, but struggles with school.
again, all of this is treated brilliantly. there's no 'magic' solution to the kids problems, but they are addressed with respect and understanding.
overall this is a great little adventure story, but with some real depth to the story as well. I really, highly recommend it!
March 26, 2022
Esme was supposed to have been at a party. Her best friend Isobel has fallen out with her over her non-attendance, but it’s not her fault - her mum has packed her off to her gran’s while she goes on a trip for work. It gets worse, though. She can’t just take it easy while she’s at her gran’s (although without wi-fi that would have been difficult anyway) because her daft gran has got herself into a bit of a pickle, and she’s roped Esme in to sort it out...
Calum’s foster parent Sadie and Esme’s gran are thick as thieves, and Callum’s been roped in, too. He and Esme have to go on a cross-country trip to sort out Sadie and Esme’s gran’s mistake. There’s hardly anyone on the planet who’d be a worse companion - maybe Esme’s nasty friend Isobel - but he doesn’t have much choice.
Accompanied by Shug the Dug, the daftest dog in existence, they set off on their mission. Against a backdrop of a scheme to reintroduce wolves and lynxes to Scotland, their expedition is by turns hazardous, thrilling, and filled with the beauty of the landscape.
Along the way, Esme and Callum come to a truce, and perhaps even the beginnings of a friendship, as their mission becomes more complicated as they reach their goal, and sinister games are afoot.
Littleson captures the countryside with its flora and fauna wonderfully (particularly the reintroduced lynxes and wolves), and both Esme and Callum are great characters with layers of complexity and compelling back stories. Esme’s gran and Sadie are nearly as daft as Shug the Dug and provide some excellent comic relief. The theme of the reintroduction of wild animals to Scotland is treated sensitively and with the nuance it deserves, with the understanding that there are a variety of valid viewpoints. The book cracks along at a good pace, with both the main plot of Esme and Callum’s mission and the Scooby Doo subplot providing plenty of excitement.
All in all, a wonderful book that will appeal to anyone with an interest in the natural world. Highly recommended.
Calum’s foster parent Sadie and Esme’s gran are thick as thieves, and Callum’s been roped in, too. He and Esme have to go on a cross-country trip to sort out Sadie and Esme’s gran’s mistake. There’s hardly anyone on the planet who’d be a worse companion - maybe Esme’s nasty friend Isobel - but he doesn’t have much choice.
Accompanied by Shug the Dug, the daftest dog in existence, they set off on their mission. Against a backdrop of a scheme to reintroduce wolves and lynxes to Scotland, their expedition is by turns hazardous, thrilling, and filled with the beauty of the landscape.
Along the way, Esme and Callum come to a truce, and perhaps even the beginnings of a friendship, as their mission becomes more complicated as they reach their goal, and sinister games are afoot.
Littleson captures the countryside with its flora and fauna wonderfully (particularly the reintroduced lynxes and wolves), and both Esme and Callum are great characters with layers of complexity and compelling back stories. Esme’s gran and Sadie are nearly as daft as Shug the Dug and provide some excellent comic relief. The theme of the reintroduction of wild animals to Scotland is treated sensitively and with the nuance it deserves, with the understanding that there are a variety of valid viewpoints. The book cracks along at a good pace, with both the main plot of Esme and Callum’s mission and the Scooby Doo subplot providing plenty of excitement.
All in all, a wonderful book that will appeal to anyone with an interest in the natural world. Highly recommended.
September 3, 2025
Amazing book, bought in the Scottish Highlands, read it in the Scottish Highlands and the book plays in the Scottish Highlands. It’s a good book to read in class and as kids (and discuss it) but it’s also beautiful written!
April 21, 2022
‘The Rewilders’ by Lindsay Littleson is a fast-paced, thrilling adventure for ages 9-12+. It takes the sensitive issue of reintroducing predatory animals into the natural landscape and places it side by side with the story of two children, Esme and Callum, who are enemies at school - until they are forced to travel together on a secret journey to return Cora, a young lynx, to the wildlife park she was accidentally stolen from.
The howling of wolves in the night, the discovery of dead sheep abandoned on the moorland and the hostile attitude of the humans they encounter on their journey all combine to create a growing sense of menace that builds to a powerful crescendo when they finally reach the wildlife park, where Esme’s efforts to return Cora to a place of safety leave her open to danger from all sides.
This is a real page-turner of a book where the author is not afraid to tackle the debate over the difficult issue of rewilding head on. Esme and Callum’s adventures make it clear that there are no easy answers. Nor are there simple solutions to the dilemmas the children face in their personal lives. But the lessons they learn on their quest to take Cora home offer them not only a magical introduction to the grace and beauty of the natural world but also a deeper understanding of the true meaning of friendship.
The howling of wolves in the night, the discovery of dead sheep abandoned on the moorland and the hostile attitude of the humans they encounter on their journey all combine to create a growing sense of menace that builds to a powerful crescendo when they finally reach the wildlife park, where Esme’s efforts to return Cora to a place of safety leave her open to danger from all sides.
This is a real page-turner of a book where the author is not afraid to tackle the debate over the difficult issue of rewilding head on. Esme and Callum’s adventures make it clear that there are no easy answers. Nor are there simple solutions to the dilemmas the children face in their personal lives. But the lessons they learn on their quest to take Cora home offer them not only a magical introduction to the grace and beauty of the natural world but also a deeper understanding of the true meaning of friendship.
December 18, 2023
I loved this story of two different children who thought they had nothing in common bonding while they attempt to release a young lynx back into the wild where she belongs. There are lots of great moments when Esme and Calum misunderstand each other because of their own prejudices, and these make for an exciting and tense narrative as well as a really satisfying ending when they start to get to know each other better and realise that they both share similar fears of being picked on by the more popular kids in school. This is a great book for opening up classroom discussions on rewilding – showing the debate from both sides and helping children to understand the issues involved while being a wonderfully engaging story at the same time. I’d love a sequel to see what new adventures might be waiting for Esme, Calum, and Cora the lynx!
December 16, 2022
This story is going to stay with me. A great adventure story, with two kids going on a journey to help a wild lynx. As they work together they learn more about themselves and what real friendship is about. It is also a lovely message about caring for animals and the environment 😍📖😍 and I loved Shug, you can't go wrong with a cute dog in a story 🐕
October 5, 2023
I really enjoyed this. Old-fashioned in the best sense, in that it's a cracking, hare-brained adventure in the great outdoors. The characters are really well evoked, the setting is beautifully described, and it's a great read.
Book #31 of my project to read more children's books.
Book #31 of my project to read more children's books.
April 26, 2025
Interesting topic and sure children will enjoy. A bit far fetched for the genre of book and timeline seemed odd. Overall enjoyable.
December 30, 2025
Read as part of my son’s reading challenge for school. Really nice little book.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews