Picture Book · Ages 10–14 · 1965

The Animal Family

By Randall [Decorations by Maurice Sendak] Jarrell

A lonely hunter finds an extraordinary family in the wilderness.

4.2/5 Goodreads · 1,558 ratings

179 pages

In stock. Also at Amazon or Bookshop.

Bookroo's summary

In a remote wilderness, a solitary hunter discovers an unusual family—a mermaid, a bear, a lynx, and a boy. As he navigates this enchanting new life, he faces the challenge of belonging and connection. What wonders and trials await in this extraordinary family by the sea? Dive into a tale where the wild becomes home and the heart finds its place.

From the publisher

Front flap: “Once a man and woman and boy were wrecked on an uninhabited coast. The boy’s mother and father grew old, and at last the boy, a man now, was left alone. There in the wilderness he saw and did many wonderful things, but he had no one to show what he had seen or tell what he had done - he was alone. This is the story of how, one by one, the man found himself a family. Almost nowhere in fiction is there a stranger, dearer, or funnier family - and the life that the members of The Animal Family live together, there in the wilderness beside the sea, is as extraordinary and as enchanting as the family. If you like wild animals and desert islands, if you want a second family besides your own, this is the book for you, a book that will find a place in your heart alongside Randall Jarrell’s and Maurice Sendak’s famous The Bat-Poet.”