Written by wordsmith Robert Macfarlane and beautifully illustrated by artist Jackie Morris it is a collection of poems and paintings inspired by the sad fact that words from the natural world were being removed from the Oxford Children’s Dictionary. Discover some of The Lost Words here: Dandelion Acorn The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris. These are truly remarkable editions and very special collector’s items.The Lost Words is one of the most wonderful books I have ever had the pleasure of owning and is a staple starter activity in my outdoor learning lessons. Each of the special production prints is made completely unique and original by the addition of a line of text from the appropriate spell, written by MacFarlane and an original hand-drawn sketch by Morris. The complete edition is signed both by Jackie and Robert. A proportion of each edition are very special productions using silk-screen and gold leaf to recreate the luminous quality of the original paintings. The Lost Words is that book - a work that has already cast its extraordinary spell on hundreds of thousands of people and begun a grass-roots movement to re-wild childhood across Britain, Europe, and North America.Ī selection of Jackie’s illustrations have been reproduced in small edition sizes. By the magic of word and paint, they sought to summon these words again into the voices, stories, and dreams of children and adults alike, and to celebrate the wonder and importance of everyday nature. Ten years later, Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris set out to make a 'spell book' that will conjure back twenty of these lost words, and the beings they name, from acorn to wren.

The news of these substitutions - the outdoor and natural being displaced by the indoor and virtual - became seen by many as a sign of the growing gulf between childhood and the natural world. Among the words taking their place were attachment, blog, broadband, bullet-point, cut-and-paste, and voice-mail. The list of these 'lost words' included acorn, adder, bluebell, dandelion, fern, heron, kingfisher, newt, otter, and willow.

Apparently they were no longer being used enough by children to merit their place in the dictionary. In 2007, when a new edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary was published, around forty common words concerning nature had been dropped.

The lost words jackie morris