The Wild Beastie: A Tale from the Isle of Begg
Illustrated by
05 June 2025Synopsis
Meet Bumple and Little Mop: stars of a wild and wonderful new adventure from award-winning author and artist Helen Kellock.
A story about finding courage through friendship, set on an enchanted Scottish island. In a forgotten part of the sea, there lies the Isle of Begg: its shores are wild and wonderful, with creatures of every kind... But there's one little creature, called Bumple, who has no interest in the island's wonders; she'd much rather stay put in her cosy home patch. It's only when a mischievous little beastie crash lands in her world that Bumple begins to realize – a little bit of wildness can be a LOT of fun!
Details
05 June 2025
9781529523928Reviews
The Wild Beastie is all about friendship, embracing challenges and the importance of outdoor play for young children.
The watercolour illustrations in this book are glorious. Inspired by the author-illustrator’s visit to the Isle of
Skye, they capture the beautiful colour and light of that area of Scotland. Bumple is a “wild beastie” (I love that phrase) from the Isle of Begg, though she’s a little nervous to stray too far across the island... This is a lovely, gentle story of stepping outside your comfort zone with a friend at your side, and the joy to be found in the wild. As Bumple comes to realise, we’re sometimes capable of more than we think, and that’s always nice to remember.
A lovely, magical tale showing how stepping out of your comfort zone and discovering that letting yourself go and trying a bit of wildness can be a whole lot of fun. From endpaper to endpaper, the watercolour illustrations are a marvellous mix of playfulness and beauty.
This is a book for younger children who might be a bit wary of stepping out into the world and who need to be convinced that there’s fun to be had by taking a few chances and making some new friends. Growing up is about problem solving and that can’t be done without sometimes going into territory you’re not familiar with – and meeting people you don’t already know.
