The Lost Words
- Downloads：3019
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-07-26 00:52:22
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Robert Macfarlane
- ISBN：0241253586
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
From Acorn to Weasel: a gorgeous， hand-illustrated， large-format spellbook celebrating the magic and wonder of the natural world
All over the country， there are words disappearing from children's lives。 Words like Dandelion， Otter， Bramble， Acorn and Lark represent the natural world of childhood， a rich landscape of discovery and imagination that is fading from children's minds。
The Lost Words stands against the disappearance of wild childhood。 It is a joyful celebration of the poetry of nature words and the living glory of our distinctive， British countryside。 With acrostic spell-poems by peerless wordsmith Robert Macfarlane and hand-painted illustrations by Jackie Morris， this enchanting book captures the irreplaceable magic of language and nature for all ages。
All over the country， there are words disappearing from children's lives。 Words like Dandelion， Otter， Bramble， Acorn and Lark represent the natural world of childhood， a rich landscape of discovery and imagination that is fading from children's minds。
The Lost Words stands against the disappearance of wild childhood。 It is a joyful celebration of the poetry of nature words and the living glory of our distinctive， British countryside。 With acrostic spell-poems by peerless wordsmith Robert Macfarlane and hand-painted illustrations by Jackie Morris， this enchanting book captures the irreplaceable magic of language and nature for all ages。
Reviews
Caroline Templer
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Beautiful pictures， and lovely words。Designed for children， but as an adult I enjoyed reading and looking at the lovely drawings。
Mickey Bits
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This is a wonderful volume of acrostic poems， apparently inspoired by words being taken out of student dictionaries。 Did they really take out the word， "acorn" ？！？！I highly recommend the poems "Newt" and "Otter。" Very clever and pleasing。 This is a wonderful volume of acrostic poems， apparently inspoired by words being taken out of student dictionaries。 Did they really take out the word， "acorn" ？！？！I highly recommend the poems "Newt" and "Otter。" Very clever and pleasing。 。。。more
Alex
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‘… Right now， I need you，for my sadness has come again，and my heart grows flatter，so， I’m coming to find you by following your song，keeping on， into deep space，past dying stars and exploding suns，to where， at last…you sing your heart outat all the dark matter。’‘Enter the wood with care， my love，lest you are pulled down by the hue，lost in the depths， drowned in blue。’
Abigail Bok
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“As flake is to blizzard， asCurve is to sphere 。 。 。”So begins the incantatory treasure of The Lost Words: A Spell Book，” with verse by Robert Macfarlane and illuminations （they go beyond “illustrations”） by Jackie Morris。 It is a large-format picture-and-words book that seeks to capture for children and children-at-heart fragments of the vanishing beauty and wonder of the natural world。Acorns， weasels， starlings， dandelions—these are a few of the ordinary inhabitants of nature rendered magical “As flake is to blizzard， asCurve is to sphere 。 。 。”So begins the incantatory treasure of The Lost Words: A Spell Book，” with verse by Robert Macfarlane and illuminations （they go beyond “illustrations”） by Jackie Morris。 It is a large-format picture-and-words book that seeks to capture for children and children-at-heart fragments of the vanishing beauty and wonder of the natural world。Acorns， weasels， starlings， dandelions—these are a few of the ordinary inhabitants of nature rendered magical by this pair， through gorgeous watercolor and alliterative verse。 The project grew from the idea that children are losing words for these things because they are losing exposure to them; it’s hard to imagine that a luminous， numinous book like this won’t spark a passion for knowing the vanishing life that surrounds us。As for me， I’m already rewriting rituals and spells based on it。 Blessed be。 。。。more
Mark
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Quite important in its own space and admirable。 But， as a book， it struggles to get beyond the 2。5 star threshold。 Quite tedious in lengthy stretches。 Not Macfarlane's finest best work – start elsewhere， I'd recommend The Old Ways。 Quite important in its own space and admirable。 But， as a book， it struggles to get beyond the 2。5 star threshold。 Quite tedious in lengthy stretches。 Not Macfarlane's finest best work – start elsewhere， I'd recommend The Old Ways。 。。。more
Jennifer
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This would have been 4 stars for the artwork and concept alone， however， we're taking off a star for the awkwardness of the size and weight of the book， as well as for the distracting font that my son with a learning disorder found frustrating （an 'a' would look like two letters， an 'm' like three， and so on， due to the lack of connecting lines）。The Lost Words is meant to teach children words that are no longer commonly used in speech and literature。 We disagree on the premise for some of these This would have been 4 stars for the artwork and concept alone， however， we're taking off a star for the awkwardness of the size and weight of the book， as well as for the distracting font that my son with a learning disorder found frustrating （an 'a' would look like two letters， an 'm' like three， and so on， due to the lack of connecting lines）。The Lost Words is meant to teach children words that are no longer commonly used in speech and literature。 We disagree on the premise for some of these words—many are very well known to us， such as ivy， raven， otter， fern， and others。 We also felt the poems were too difficult for most children to understand easily。The artwork is impressive—we love the realistic， detailed watercolors。 。。。more
Sean Hawker
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I read this to my four year old daughter who loved it。 Robert MacFarlane is an exceptional writer， Underland being one of my all time favourites。 His prose captures the beauty of the natural world and of language perfectly。
Anuradha
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A beautiful book to treasure
Smitha Murthy
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This is not a book。 It’s a work of art。 I didn't really intend to read this right now， in the middle of the work day。 But the lovely CSD had given me this book earlier this year when we first met， and I had kept this book in my room since then， rather incongruously next to the modem， empty jugs， and a hardly used tea kettle。 It lay there， much like we wait for deliciousness to unwrap itself around our life。 I liked knowing it was there， all those lost words。 Yet， for some reason， in the middle o This is not a book。 It’s a work of art。 I didn't really intend to read this right now， in the middle of the work day。 But the lovely CSD had given me this book earlier this year when we first met， and I had kept this book in my room since then， rather incongruously next to the modem， empty jugs， and a hardly used tea kettle。 It lay there， much like we wait for deliciousness to unwrap itself around our life。 I liked knowing it was there， all those lost words。 Yet， for some reason， in the middle of looking at a client’s social media dashboard， I heard this book call out to me。 I believe that we should never ignore the call of a book， no matter what you are doing。 And here I am。 Such a beautiful book that will adorn my bookshelf so well。 I don’t know the wildlife depicted in the book， but it doesn’t matter。 We have our imaginations and our words are found。 。。。more
Michael
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The art is stunning and it's a nice concept too。 I wasn't all that moved by the poetry but it was still a really nice book The art is stunning and it's a nice concept too。 I wasn't all that moved by the poetry but it was still a really nice book 。。。more
Mary
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This beautiful book of poems by Macfarlane is accompanied by gorgeous watercolor art and pays tribute to 20 of the 40 words removed from the newest edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary。 These “ lost” words include many common animals， birds， & plants， words which children are no longer using: bluebell， dandelion， fern， heron， otter。 These words describing the natural world have been replaced by technology terms: attachment， blog， broadband， voice- mail， etc。 I read this book with my grandchil This beautiful book of poems by Macfarlane is accompanied by gorgeous watercolor art and pays tribute to 20 of the 40 words removed from the newest edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary。 These “ lost” words include many common animals， birds， & plants， words which children are no longer using: bluebell， dandelion， fern， heron， otter。 These words describing the natural world have been replaced by technology terms: attachment， blog， broadband， voice- mail， etc。 I read this book with my grandchildren and they enjoyed finding the hidden words， hearing the poems， and enjoying the beautiful illustrations。 Thankfully， they were familiar with all words， except for adder and we discussed all the animals and plants presented within and they have decided they want to try dandelion greens in their salad despite Grandma’s warning that the greens are a bit bitter。 😀Highly recommended。 This makes a beautiful coffee table book that will be enjoyed by all ages。 。。。more
Kimik
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Book of poetry and a true ode to the natural world。 I highly recommend the audiobook as an immersive， meditative experience。
Dan
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I loved the book。 It is far too short however。
Lizanne Johnson
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This book is now residing on my coffee table。 It is a spectacular book of art and poetry。 I’ve already sent another copy to my sister。 I want to immersed myself in the art。
Shannon
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Read Harder 2021: Book of Nature PoemsThis exceptionally beautiful book was given to me a little over a year ago。 I am so thankful the 2021 read harder challenge prompted me to finally read it。It is delightful。 The illustrations are lovely， detailed and draw you in。 The words are suited to each creature。 The overall effect is a desire to notice what is so easy to miss - the extravagant beauty around us and the unique value each creature brings。I highly recommend this book！
Cami
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“Once upon a time， words began to vanish from the language of children。 They disappeared so quietly that at first almost no one noticed—fading away like water on a stone。”
Emily Wells
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Beautiful book and illustrations。
Jeannie
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This book was so lovely。 I read and viewed the beautiful illustrations in the copy we ordered for our library， and insist that it now be placed on display！
kerrycat
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gorgeous， both the poetry and the art
Janice
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Awesome， beautiful book。 Love the pages where you had to puzzle out the animals and then leads to poetry and back to beautiful images。
The Bookmark Hoarder
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Beautiful book！ The full page illustrations are amazing， and I enjoyed the poems。
LUTING CHEN
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4 stars for ideas。 2 stars for the poems。 4。5 stars for illustrations。
Teri
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Lovely…my grands love it too…。
Maddy ✨this book needs more ducks✨
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👎 Disappointing。 I hyped this up way too much。 I've gazed at in on my shelf for a couple of years without daring to read it。 I lingered long over the original paintings and ink blotted note paper at the exhibition at Hadrian's Wall。 I finally opened the book full of excitement， and with the goldfinches of the accompanying Spell-Songs album chiming constantly through my head。✒️ I honestly thought Robert McFarlane was going to work magic with these poems， because his prose is exquisite。 And the pr 👎 Disappointing。 I hyped this up way too much。 I've gazed at in on my shelf for a couple of years without daring to read it。 I lingered long over the original paintings and ink blotted note paper at the exhibition at Hadrian's Wall。 I finally opened the book full of excitement， and with the goldfinches of the accompanying Spell-Songs album chiming constantly through my head。✒️ I honestly thought Robert McFarlane was going to work magic with these poems， because his prose is exquisite。 And the prologue of this collection is no different， weaving lyrically about the "spell songs" we'd find within; the power of the spoken word， and the magic in the naming of things。 Gorgeous， folklore-y stuff。 🦉 But as for the actual spell-songs themselves？ In the end， this collection held a few stand-out gems which I re-read with a grin on my face -- Bramble， Conker， Raven， Wren -- amongst a luke-warm assemblage which left me rather underwhelmed。😔 Obviously poetry is completely subjective， but I just wasn't feeling the nature magic with most of these。 Many were a glut of epithets with little structure and a lot of repeated phrases that weren't building to a clear rhyme or rhythm （which is what I for one want in a spell）。 The kind of poetry I enjoy uses beautiful language precisely， and if there's length， it's because there's a narrative。 Some of these poems -- Otter， Willow -- were sorely lacking an editor's red pen and would be far stronger with 5 fewer lines and a more exacting selection of metaphor。 Again， just my GCSE opinion， don't @ me English BAs。🎨 The art also disappointed me。 The muted， dark colour scheme and broad wash of watercolours throughout the most of the book are in stark contrast to the bright beauty and precise naturalism of the goldfinches on the cover。 Said goldfinches are falsely promised to serve as "guides" throughout the collection。 Cue me searching for hidden goldfinches in the full page spreads of art where there decidedly were none。 There's a lot of brown background， and very few animals peeking out。🤷♀️ So overall， I guess stupid me for wanting to "save" this book and linger over it， and not flicking through properly before I bought it。 🌿 Overall summary: Great concept， meh poems。 Bramble is excellent though。 Fight me🦆 Duck rating: lots of birbs， no quackers📖 Will I read the sequel: Still gonna read Robert McFarlane for sure， just maybe not his poetry。 。。。more
Kate
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What a gorgeous book！！ The illustrations are gorgeous and give life to what is being talked about and the poetry talks about the plants & animals in a very accessible way。 What a joy to read！
Daniel Demarle
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A lyrically beautiful book。
Bethal
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Simple yet effective。 I listened to the audiobook and loved the addition of sounds of nature: wind， rain， birds etc as it added more of a sentimental feel than just hearing the poems。 The use of more than one voice was a nice contrast and kept my attention also the different types of poems was great as it teaches children early on that poems don’t always have to rhyme。 Overall I loved this little short read — I wish it were longer。
Cynthia Egbert
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When I have grandchildren one day， this book is one of the first that I will buy for their shelves。 What a beautiful way to try and pull children back into the life of nature that so few can enjoy in this world today。 There are words， most especially words in nature， being lost every day。 When I think of how knowing all of the different types of birds was just a part of my life as a child and I think of how few children today can name the species of birds that they see around them， it just break When I have grandchildren one day， this book is one of the first that I will buy for their shelves。 What a beautiful way to try and pull children back into the life of nature that so few can enjoy in this world today。 There are words， most especially words in nature， being lost every day。 When I think of how knowing all of the different types of birds was just a part of my life as a child and I think of how few children today can name the species of birds that they see around them， it just breaks my heart。 I love that Macfarlane is battling against such loss。 。。。more
Rachel A。
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I adored this audiobook。 I love the rhythmic rhymes and weaving of language。 I love ivy being sky wire。 I love the nature noises going on so long that the poetry feels like intrusion when it starts up again。 Listen to this book。 Then listen to it again。
Allie
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This was the most gorgeous thing。 Purchased for toddler， but I sat down and devoured the GORGEOUS poetry and equally captivating illustrations。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Lost Words
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Lost Words&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Lost Words&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0