The Lost Words in Music is excellent - Thank you
Beautiful art, but I was disappointed because it’s more of a children’s book. I was expecting to READ a good story or at least a 300 page book with endless poems about nature. But don’t let the comments deceive you, when they say that the book is large it is not thick it is long and thin. Most importantly this book is expensive for what you get. I understand it’s two beautiful art styles, but most of the pages are empty and blank, and I don’t want a maybe less than 30 minute read gigantic hogging book on my bookshelf. And most likely once I read it I don’t think I will pick it up again. Once again the art is very admirable, but it’s most likely for children( even if they may not understand some of the poems.)
Beautiful illustrations in a lovely book to teach children “lost” words they might not be familiar with.
This book is absolutely beautiful. The purpose of the book touches my heart as an avid reader and self-proclaimed 'word-nerd'. The poetry and art-work are a delight. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone, especially parents and teachers. I intend to purchase more copies for friends, grown children and grandchildren.
Love this book!
Both the art and the poetry is STUNNING!!! I go back to read and to see almost daily. I saw. magpies in my back yard and was immediately. reminded of both the art and poetry that represented them and I wasthrilled over how well they were recreated. in picture and word.
The Lost Words is incredibly beautiful, and inspires quiet contemplation of the natural world. The letters of each 'lost word' are cleverly imbedded in the illustrations, making this gorgeous book a great one to share with a child, and a pleasure for a person of any age. It seems to lift away the stresses of daily life, and lead the reader into a space of calm and wonder. I have given this book as a gift to young and old.
This book is bigger in size than I realized and it's full of even bigger art and poetry! So beautiful! So lovely to read alone or share with others.
Having previously purchased a wonderful small book of poems and art by Macfarlane and Morris (The Lost Spells), I ordered The Lost Words, which is a very large (11"x15") volume of similar content. The Lost Words contains poems about words recently removed from the Oxford Junior Dictionary. The poems are thoughtful, sweet and occasionally amusing. The artwork is fabulous and fills many pages edge to edge. This is a beautiful book and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys words, nature and gorgeous art.
I was expecting a book of poetry, but it is so much more. The illustrations are beautiful and the message - that children are being separated from nature by the loss of language to describe it - is worthy. This is a large book that would serve well on the coffee table or guest room.
I’ve bought this beautifully written & illustrated book 4 times, the last for my brother’s birthday. Such a fulfilling book, written to reach the reader deeply, showing how modern technological vocabulary & concepts are destroying our knowledge of nature to the point where younger people may not even know many animals & birds exist! The artwork is fabulous. This book is an amazing bargain, too. It makes a lovely, unusual, & affordable gift for literate people. Don’t hesitate to buy, because it can’t fail to fascinate.
I ordered this to give as a Christmas gift to my adult daughter and came very close to keeping it for myself. The illustrations are breathtaking. It would be marvelous to peruse with children, at home or in a classroom. It’s a teaching tool and a coffee table book rolled into one. I’m about to order another copy to enjoy for myself!
Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris have created a wonderful book of “lost words”. These are a selection of twenty words describing nature ; many of these were dropped from a recent popular children’s dictionary. Each word has an acrostic poem, Macfarlane calls them spells, that gives the essence of that creature. These are accompanied by a pair of paintings by Jackie Morris. The words include some, like wren and otter, which are very familiar, and others less familiar, like conker and adder. The illustrations are superb. Although a book for children, I think adults, especially those interested in nature, will be enchanted by it.
Highly recommend if you are a lover of Beautiful books...Coffee Table Artistically Beautiful Books....If you a Nature Lover...his books will appeal to you. This is going to be one of my most treasured group of books are the 3 that he has written...Can't say enough about how much I have enjoyed the reads and the quality of these hard cover books surprised me....I mean they are beautifully made books. So probably not for the 1-5 year olds...more the 7-12 who enjoy nature and want to learn about nature around them...and will be respectful of how beautiful the books are...These are a treasure to always keep and pass on to your Children's children. He has 3 treasured books all dealing with nature... Spell Songs, The Lost Words...and the book containing the CD with original music that is absolutely artistic and beautiful...Meditation or Yoga worthy...I love relaxing to it.
The Lost Words is beautiful, artful, thoughtful, and thought-provoking book, which you would like to leave out all the time. However, the packaging - or lack thereof - was such that the corners of the book were caved in. The box the book was mailed in was entirely too big, and the one piece of bubblewrap put in the box did nothing to protect the book. The first time this happened I returned the book for a replacement; the replacement was even more damaged and included the spine. I have sadly returned the book for a refund. The book itself of course is 5 stars; the packaging -5.
This is one of the most beautiful and outstanding books that I have read in a very long time. The book is appropriate for ages six months to 106 years. There is something of value here for every reader. At a time when our natural world is in very grave danger this is a book that will help readers connect or re-connect with nature. Censorship is not always political or religious. Dictionary editors who set in glass offices in large urban centers are deciding which words our children should know and prize. The website that accompanies the book is superb. It even includes music readers can listen to as they read the rich verse of the poet-author and savor the splendor of the artist's illustrations. This a great addition to anyone's library. It is also a great book for grandparents to keep on hand to share with grandchildren when they come around.
I love this book, it is beautiful in every way. I had no idea that words were taken out of dictionarys over time. And this book celebrates those lost words. I was recently at a used book sale, where the people in charge were saying they should throw away the used dictionarys since they were out of date! I had no idea that we threw words away! I guess I assumed we just made fatter dictionarys every time we added words.....so actually you should not throw away old dictionarys, because if you read an older book you might need an older dictionary to go with it.....(yeah, you can google it, but some of us like books!, and this one is for them)
Gracious, this book is enormous and beautiful. It contains prints that hark back to Willam Morris's wallpapers and poems that bring each word into focus and context.I had intended for this to be a coffee table book. That's where it is, but it's rather imposing. I may need to find another place. Wherever that happens to be, it will need to be handy for morning meditation. There is no lovelier way to begin the day than by contemplating the natural world, what is at stake, and what we have already lost.Recommend.
The lost words are the names of plants and animals that have been removed from earlier editions of a well-known dictionary for children, words such as raven and otter. The author and illustrator want to re-wild the children. Each word comes with a poem and a painting. If read aloud to a child (or adult) by a sensitive person, while both look at the pictures, the result is enchanting.Those who say the book is too large are simply bonkers. The paintings are mesmerizing. Those who say the poems are too obscure for children simply don't know how to read poetry to children. Children are wired for the music in poetry."Rock rasps, what are you? I am Raven! Of the blue-black jacket and the boxer's swagger, stronger and older than peak and than boulder, raps Raven in reply."
Beautiful artwork, beautiful poetry, we were so excited to get this book. I enjoy MacFarlane’s other writings so I was happy to have something my children could also read and enjoy. I was nervous it might come with damage from shipping but it was without blemish. We have already memorized ‘acorn’ and love looking at the beautiful illustrations because this book is not just magical but because of the sheer size of it (it’s a large book!) it feels as though you are submersed in each painting. Love having it on our coffee table as it appeals to both young and old. Highly recommend the book as well as looking up the additional resources through the John Muir Trust.Last thing - such a treasure hearing the author read a few spells in his interview with Waterstones (look it up on YouTube!).
