1. Ambition
2. Animals
3. Art techniques
4. Birds
5. Book design
6. Climate change
7. Creativity
8. Curiosity
9. Design
10. Ecosystems
11. Endpapers
12. Environment
13. Evolution
14. Extinction
15. Futures
16. Graphic novels
17. Imagination
18. Multimodal narratives
19. Nature
20. Pollution
21. Towns and cities
22. Trees
23. Visual literacy
24. Waste management

This is a big book full of even bigger ideas and imaginings, with loads of extreme and absurd thoughts and plans for saving the world. Author Steve Mushin is an industrial designer, artist and inventor who here creates machines to transform cities into eco-systems using cutting-edge technologies. Mushin backs his approach with a quote from Einstein: ‘If at first an idea is not absurd then there is no hope for it’. Mushin knows the Earth is in big trouble and that we need to come up with radical solutions to solve climate change and the collapse of eco-systems. He believes that ‘we need to push creative thinking to the absolute limit of ridiculousness’.

Employing a graphic novel style format Mushin sets out to explain his outlandish ‘what-if’ ideas for tackling climate change. One idea is rewilding cities by taking advantage of new technologies to improve transport—freeing roads and parking areas for trees and wildlife. The ideas and enthusiasm keep flowing and the Mushin’s enthusiasm is contagious. There is much food for thought and myriad topics making it a useful tool for group discussion.

The ideas are based on extensive scientific research and the book provides information on how to find scientific papers online and some of the concept listed Statistics and research about greening endeavours. Some of these are in actual use such as ‘daylighting’ waterways and some ideas are currently being tested like using chicken manure to grow algae to turn into bioplastics. All this can be found on Mushin’s Ultrawild website.

The whole book crammed with illustrations, text and thought bubbles. New and outrageous solutions are presented. The ‘Heath Robinson’ style illustrations are deliciously inventive and entertaining. Mushin created the hand-drawn illustrations using the Sketchbook Pro program on a Wacom Cintiq tablet. Of note are the amazing endpapers that showcase some of the 100+ inventions contained in the book.

‘Ultrawild: An Audacious Plan to Rewild Every City on Earth’ is an amazing and wholly unique book. It is humourous and highly imaginative and provides much to ponder on. In the Afterword he pays homage to the many who have gone before ‘the rewilding doers’ of the world and the Indigenous inventors worldwide who provide wisdom and guardianship. He also acknowledges that rewilding is just helping ‘nature rebuild itself at its own pace’. Mushin sets out imaginative plans that inspire, entertain and provoke solutions to the world’s environmental problems in very clever and audacious ways.

1. Allen & Unwin ‘Ultrawild’ by Steve Mushin includes a link to Teaching Notes. https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Ultrawild-9781760292812/
2. Ultrawild website https://www.ultrawild.org/
3. Poetry Box: A New Zealand Poetry Page for Children. Review of ‘Ultrawild: An Audacious Plan to Rewild Every City on Earth’ by Steve Mushin https://nzpoetrybox.wordpress.com/2023/11/23/poetry-box-review-ultrawild-an-audacious-plan-to-rewild-every-city-on-earth-by-steve-mushin/
4. ReadPlus 31 October 2023. Kathryn Beilby reviews ‘Ultrawild: An Audacious Plan to Rewild Every City on Earth’ by Steve Mushin https://www.readplus.com.au/reviews/ultra-wild
5. Insights: Uniting Church Australia. 18 December 2023. Nick Mattiske reviews ‘Ultrawild’ https://www.insights.uca.org.au/greening-cities-in-childrens-book/
6. Kids’ Book Review 7 December 2023. Review of ‘Ultrawild’ by Steve Mushin http://www.kids-bookreview.com/2023/12/this-book-is-actually-beyond-audacious.html
7. Steve Mushin website https://stephenmushin.com/