A Charm of Goldfinches (and other collective nouns) is a gorgeous hardback gift book by artist and ornithologist Matt Sewell. This is super. Each page focuses on a particular creature and its grammatical collective noun, and is accompanied with gorgeous illustrations and funny yet educational information about each species. For instance, when he talks of birds stripping the bones, he notes that ‘if they are circling you’, you are already done for so ‘sorry about that!’ Learn more about an ascension of larks, a school of dolphins, a cloud of bats and a murder of crows!
A Parliament of Owls asks why geese are in a gaggle, are lions actually proud, and do crows deserve their murderous moniker? Collective nouns are the most bizarre and baffling aspects of the English language. This absorbing book tells the stories of these evocative phrases, exploring the etymology behind them. Each collective noun summons up the animal or event it describes. For example, ‘a parliament of owls’ seems to be from the 1950s classic book The Chronicles of Narnia referencing a phrase from Chaucer. The perfect gift for any language or history buff!
The Lost Words is a gorgeous large-size hardback gift book for children and adults like, created after discovering that a major dictionary is now leaving out some of the most familiar words about nature, but including others that are nothing to do with nature. Soon we’ll have dictionaries only listing ‘blackberries’ as electronic devices, over the fruits. The words of the natural world are fast disappearing from children’s lives: Dandelion, Otter, Bramble and Acorn. A wild landscape of imagination and play is rapidly fading from our children’s minds.
This book stands against the disappearance of wild childhood. It is a joyful celebration (in art and word) of nearby nature and its wonders. With poems from award-winning writer Robert Macfarlane and illustrations by Welsh artist Jackie Morris, this enchanting book evokes the magic of language and nature for all ages. With matching music score for piano.
Robert Macfarlane is a best-selling writer whose books have been adapted for BBC TV. He is a Fellow of Emmanuel College Cambridge, and writes for newspapers on environment, literature and travel. Jackie Morris is a best-selling and award-winning writer and artist, whose books have captured the hearts of hundreds of thousands of readers of all ages. She lives in a cottage on the cliffs of Pembrokshire, Wales.
