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Originally published in French in 1973 and the second book in the Philemon Adventures series (after THE SUSPENDED CASTLE and CAST AWAY ON THE LETTER A), THE WILD PIANO: A Philemon Adventure by Fred features the main character Philemon, who is described in the first pages as, “…an imaginative teenager who lives on a farm in France, back in the 1960s. When a message in a bottle sparks his curiosity, he falls right into a world of fantastic adventures…” (p. 8). THE WILD PIANO picks up on these adventures right away, but as it’s a series title and has a highly fantastical plotline, it can be a bit difficult to follow.

Philemon has just returned from the labyrinth found on the letter “A” in the Atlantic Ocean. However, as he made his way out of the maze, Philemon lost Mr. Bartholomew. He is now determined to go back to save him. Unexpectedly, Philemon’s uncle knows Mr. Bartholomew and is able to shrink Philemon down so that he can return to the worlds found on the letters in/of the Atlantic Ocean. However, Philemon ends up in the water between the “A” and the “N.” He is rescued by a man that walks on water and later by a man in a hot air balloon.

Philemon’s adventures are filled with interesting characters and unusual situations.

However, Philemon ends up in trouble when he is dropped out of the hot air balloon and ends up bouncing on the lawn of the letter “N,” which is illegal. He is arrested and put on trial. His punishment is to face the Wild Piano. If he is successful in his match-up with the Wild Piano, he will be set free. Not only does Philemon have to worry about the Wild Piano, but he is also concerned with making it back to the letter “A” and finding Mr. Bartholomew.

Philemon’s adventures are filled with interesting characters and unusual situations. For example, everyone on the letter “N” has butterfly-type wings, and Philemon’s jail cell is a zebra.

The back matter of THE WILD PIANO: A Philemon Adventure is great; it shares some of Fred’s literary and historical influences and explains their impact on the story of THE WILD PIANO. The three literary influences were ALICE IN WONDERLAND, GULLIVER’S TRAVELS and THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE. The historical influences include the revolutionary tribunals, the preponderance of winged creatures and the use of arenas.

I recommend THE WILD PIANO, but I recommend reading CAST AWAY ON THE LETTER A first, as it will make Philemon’s adventures more understandable and enjoyable.

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