Publishers Weekly
★ 09/28/2020
Macfarlane and Morris reunite to conjure the wonder of goldfinches and gorse, foxes and snow hares in this second volume of illustrated poems designed to spark a deeper love and appreciation for the natural world. But where their The Lost Words exhilarated, with its defiant reclamation of discarded dictionary words, this collection’s songs both describe and lament, swerving between ecstatic highs and plangent notes of sorrow: “Loss is the tune of our age, hard to miss and hard to bear.... But there has always been singing in dark times—and wonder is needed now more than ever.” Macfarlane’s lyrics—often, though not always, structured as acrostics—ring with consonance (“Thrift thrives where most life fails, falls,/ is cast adrift”) and wordplay (“Woodpecker, tree-wrecker”) to limn 21 ordinary wonders of the British countryside, many of which are also common North American species. Morris’s fluid artwork renders the elegant tilt of a fox’s snout, birds’ calligraphic flight patterns, and the eyelike whorls of silver birch bark. The glossary—“at once a puzzle and a key”—identifies each species depicted, turning poetry to practicality and allowing this petite volume to do double-duty as an artful field guide. One to treasure. All ages. (Oct.)
Shelf Awareness
Through deeply humane poems paired with warm illustrations, MacFarlane and Morris invited readers into the space where the enchanting natural world meets the expansive imagination . . . Crafted with the same tenderness as its sibling.
Wall Street Journal
Elegant … There is enough magic here to summon wild things even for those who are snug indoors.
Brain Pickings Maria Popova
Macfarlane and Morris bring us the mystery and wisdom of wild things as complementary and consolatory to our tame incompleteness … These painted verses sing and shimmer with a magical exuberance that renders the wild world not parallel, not foreign, but proximate, beckoning, native to our own souls … A charm against the curse of civilization, of exploitation, of apathy.
From the Publisher
PRAISE FOR ROBERT MACFARLANE, JACKIE MORRIS, AND THE LOST WORDS:Winner, CILIP Kate Greenaway MedalFinalist, Wainwright Prize“A gorgeous book!” — @MargaretAtwood“Every page is enthralling.” — New York Times“Art, verse, and nature are combined with entertaining elegance in The Lost Words . . . This large, quality hardcover allows words and watercolour to shine and results in a work that can be left open at any page to stunning effect.” — Shelf Awareness, STARRED REVIEW“A gorgeous coffee-table book . . . with stunning artwork made with watercolour and gold leaf, and poems on words ranging from ‘acorn’ to ‘wren.’” — PEI Guardian“Stylish and melancholy, The Lost Words is a book to savour.” — Wall Street Journal“My top book of the year.” — Spectator“Sumptuous . . . a book combining meticulous wordcraft with exquisite illustrations deftly restores language describing the natural world to the children’s lexicon . . . The Lost Words is a beautiful book and an important one.” — Observer“One of the most striking and poignant picture books of the season . . . This giant tome contains not only beautiful illustrations but a haunting series of poems that read like a summoning back of the wild . . . A book in which every page seems like an act of love.” — Herald“A breathtaking book.” — New Statesman“A sumptuous, nostalgic ode to a disappearing landscape.” — Kirkus Reviews“This union of natural history, poetry, art, and whimsy is, indeed, a truly enchanting all-ages book of life to contemplate, read aloud, and share.” — Booklist“Utterly enchanting, it’s a celebration of nature — but also language itself. If I ran the world, it’d be in every school library and classroom possible.” — Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast“One of the most stunningly beautiful books I have had the pleasure of reading (and rereading) this year.” — Fab Book Reviews“Gorgeous to look at and to read. Give it to a child to bring back the magic of language — and its scope.” — Jeanette Winterson“The most beautiful and thought-provoking book I’ve read this year.” — Frank Cottrell-Boyce“Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris have made a thing of astonishing beauty.” — Alex Preston
