- Non-Fiction
- Ages 6–12
- Nature
The Lost Words
A book of spells to summon back the nature words quietly removed from the Oxford Junior Dictionary, otter, acorn, bluebell, newt. Robert Macfarlane's incantatory language and Jackie Morris's breathtaking watercolours make this as much a work of art as a children's book.
- Best for6–12
- FormatNon-fiction
- Length128 pp
- Read aloud~51 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Lyrical
- Rhyming
Tone
- Thought provoking
- Gentle
- Heartwarming
- Whimsical
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
When Robert Macfarlane discovered that words like 'acorn', 'bluebell', 'otter', and 'newt' had been quietly removed from the Oxford Junior Dictionary to make room for 'blog', 'broadband', and 'cut-and-paste', he and illustrator Jackie Morris responded with this extraordinary book of spells. Each creature or plant is summoned back through a golden acrostic spell, words arranged to call the thing forth from the page. Jackie Morris's full-page watercolours depict each subject with luminous beauty: an otter at dusk, a kingfisher in flight, a dandelion's explosion of seeds. The result is something that defies category, part nature book, part poetry collection, part picture book for adults. It speaks to children's wonder at the natural world and to adults' sense of what might be lost if that wonder is not cultivated. A book to keep for ever.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 6–12
- Read aloud · 4–12
- Independent · 8–14
Prose load
Light
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Tougher fit
Read-aloud quality
Excellent
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Bedtime
- Gift-buying
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
4 / 5 · Bedtime-friendly
Sensitive-child
4 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Nature lovers
- Gift book
- Poetry lovers
- All ages
Avoid if
No common reasons to avoid this one — a rare clean sweep on the sensitivity flags.
Particularly good for children who are…
- Interested in science
In the classroom
How it works in school.
Spell-poems to read aloud, perform and memorise, and a rich companion for nature topics — unbeatable for vocabulary and the music of language.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The specific weight is the words that got removed — acorn, bluebell, otter, newt, quietly taken out of the children's dictionary to make room for blog and broadband, Robert Macfarlane writing acrostic spells to call them back and Jackie Morris painting them. The book of incantations to keep on a shelf for years.
- Secret world
- Animal companions
Why parents love it
The Macfarlane / Jackie Morris modern classic — acrostic spell-poems summoning back the nature words removed from the Oxford Junior Dictionary, Morris's luminous full-page watercolours making each one an icon. Part nature book, part poetry, part picture book for adults. A book to gift.
- Beautiful illustrations
- Great writing
- Educational for adult too
- Indie gem discovery
About the creators
About the creators.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
More like this…
Books that share themes and topics with this one.
Where you’ll find it
On these reading lists.
Buy or borrow
Pick up a copy.
- Bookshop.org ↗
- Waterstones ↗
- Amazon UK ↗
- Hive ↗
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