- Jul 20, 2016
- 6,572
- 20,209
Learned something new in reading about this book. The gods of youth dictionaries also remove words they deem "out of use". What might people do when they find out willow, fern, dandelion, and others were deemed no longer relevant? If you are Macfarlane and Morris then you create a wonderland of book.
As someone who teaches children about the natural world and where our food comes from, I was shocked about the deletion of these words. Once these words leave our knowledge base then so does our connection to the greater wonders of the world. Also, it creates a larger gap to native foods and remedies. The dandelion is a prime example - the tea has so many uses.
I've only seen the book online, but it definitely is one I plan to add to our library. It seems like a family book that will be passed down through the generations.
The children I see are from all walks of life, and they are genuinely interested and amazed with the simple information I share. One boy showed me how important this knowledge is when he said "When I come again, will you tell me more things?". Yes, darlin, yes I will.
I found it on Amazon for $25 and Barnes and Noble for $32. So, check around with your booksellers.
... Jackie Morris speaking .... The seeds of the idea for The Lost Words came from Robert’s earlier book, Landmarks. My idea was simple: to take some of the nature and landscape words from that book - common words that were falling from common usage - and make gold leaf, icon-like images on one page, with the dictionary definition on the opposite page. A wild dictionary, if you like. I wrote to Robert to ask if he might write the introduction. And this is where the book grew, because he saw something more, asking if I might work with him on a book.
So, it was Robert’s idea to make this a ‘spell-book’ – to have three spreads per word, the first marking a loss, a slipping away, the second being a summoning spell, and the third being the word spelled back into language, hearts, minds and landscape.
... Robert Macfarlane speaking .... We want this book to conjure back the common words and species that are steadily disappearing from everyday life - and especially from children’s stories and dreams.
In a Cambridge University study, conservationists found British primary schoolchildren 'substantially better' at identifying Pokémon characters than species of common British wildlife. https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2017/designing-the-lost-words/
As someone who teaches children about the natural world and where our food comes from, I was shocked about the deletion of these words. Once these words leave our knowledge base then so does our connection to the greater wonders of the world. Also, it creates a larger gap to native foods and remedies. The dandelion is a prime example - the tea has so many uses.
I've only seen the book online, but it definitely is one I plan to add to our library. It seems like a family book that will be passed down through the generations.
The children I see are from all walks of life, and they are genuinely interested and amazed with the simple information I share. One boy showed me how important this knowledge is when he said "When I come again, will you tell me more things?". Yes, darlin, yes I will.
I found it on Amazon for $25 and Barnes and Noble for $32. So, check around with your booksellers.