The Lost Words

Sumptuously illustrated... the poems or nature summoning spells are indebted to Gerard Manley Hopkins with rich alliteration, word-play and compound adjectives [and] the illustrations make plants and creatures luminous against backgrounds of gold leaf

The Sunday Times

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

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

The Observer

A breathtaking book... Jackie Morris has created something that you could spend all day looking at... This is the kind of complexity that can enthral a child as much as an adult... Refreshingly accessible, slightly magical

New Statesman

My top book of the year... It is one of those children's books for ages up to 99 years. The lost words are those my generation and earlier ones used every day and which are fast disappearing, and Macfarlane's aim is to resurrect the everyday glories of our language. May he succeed

Susan Hill

Gilded and glorious, Jackie Morris's paintings illustrate Robert Macfarlane's acrostic poems in The Lost Words, one of the years loveliest books for all ages over 10

The Sunday Times

Rapturously received celebration of nature

The New Statesman

Macfarlane is a changemaker... he has made nature-writing populis6t and big-selling. Morris's paintings are beautiful - at once familiar and other. A contender for book of the year

The Big Issue

Deeply reflective and gorgeously illustrated...Morris's paintings of wildlife echo the complexity and vibrancy of Macfarlane's poetry

Publisher's Weekly

One of the publishing sensations of recent times is The Lost Words

Daily Mail

Stunning . . . Addressing the disappearance of everyday nature words and a ‘wild childhood’ from kids’ lives, The Lost Words celebrates the magic of the natural world in a superbly soft manner, much like an enchanting love letter to Mother Nature

Imagine5

Publisher's description. An illustrated spell-book in watercolour and gold leaf, from the rich creative minds of award-winning author Robert Macfarlane and acclaimed artist Jackie Morris. As nature vanishes from children's language and their imagination, The Lost Words stands against the loss of magic, celebrating the joy of wild childhood and wild places.

Penguin

Every page is enthralling.

New York Times Book Review