Join brilliant young naturalist Dara McAnulty - winner of the 2020 Wainwright Prize for his book Diary of a Young Naturalist and author of Wild Child! - on a journey through a year in the life of birds. A Wild Child's Book of Birds is a fantastic nature book, illustrated in full colour by Barry Falls. This beautiful, informative book takes you through a year in the life of the birds you will find in Britain and Ireland and is divided into four sensational seasonal sections. Find out what birds do in each season, learn about birdsong, beaks, nests and eggs, the science of flight, migration, what to grow to attract different birds to your garden and what foods to put out on your bird table. Learn about different ways of recording what you see and about birds in literature. There are sections on birds of prey and corvids too.

Shortlisted for The Wainwright Prize for Nature and Conservation Writing for Children 2022 Shortlisted for the Edward Stanford Children's Travel Book of the Year 2022 Join the brilliant Dara McAnulty, winner of the Wainwright Prize for Diary of a Young Naturalist, as he takes you on a nature walk to share in the joy of connecting with the natural world on your multi sensory journey starting just beyond your own front door. Wild Child: A Journey Through Nature is a beautiful gift book, illustrated in full colour by Barry Falls, and divided into five chapters: looking out of the window, venturing out into the garden, walking in the woods, investigating heathland and wandering on the river bank. Dara pauses to tell you about each habitat and provides fantastic facts about the native birds, animals and plants you will find there - including wrens, blackbirds, butterflies, tadpoles, bluebells, bees, hen harriers, otters, dandelions, oak trees and many, many more. Each chapter contains a discovery section where you will get a closer look at natural phenomena such as metamorphoses and migration, learn about categorization in the animal kingdom or become an expert on the collective nouns for birds. Every chapter ends with an activity to do when you get home - you will be shown how to make a bird feeder, try pond dipping, make a journey stick and build a terrarium and more. Dara closes the book with his own inspirational advice for young conservationists. This is the perfect guide for an aspiring naturalist.

Winner of the 2020 Wainwright Prize, Diary of a Young Naturalist chronicles the turning of Dara McAnulty's world, from spring to summer, autumn to winter, on his home patch, at school, in the wild and in his head. Evocative, raw and beautifully written, this very special book vividly explores the natural world from the perspective of an autistic teenager juggling homework, exams and friendships alongside his life as a conservationist and environmental activist. With a sense of awe and wonder, Dara describes in meticulous detail encounters in his garden and the wild, with blackbirds, whooper swans, red kites, hen harriers, frogs, dandelions, skylarks, bats, cuckoo flowers, Irish hares and many more species. The power and warmth of his words also draw an affectionate and moving portrait of a close-knit family making their way in the world.

WINNER OF BOOK OF THE YEAR, NARRATIVE NON-FICTION BRITISH BOOK AWARDS 2021 Rediscover the natural world with the multi-award winning phenomenon and youngest ever major literary prize winner in UK history. 'Miraculous memoir . . . profoundly moving' Observer 'Dara is an extraordinary voice and vision: brave, poetic, ethical, lyrical' Robert Macfarlane 'It's a diary but essentially timeless . . . It's really, really special' Chris Packham ALSO WINNER OF: THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING 2020, AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARD FOR NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR 2020, BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARDS FOR NON-FICTION 2020; SHORTLISTED FOR: WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 & LONGLISTED FOR: THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE 2020 ___________ 'This diary chronicles the turning of my world, from spring to winter, at home, in the wild, in my head.' Evocative, raw and lyrical, this startling debut explores the natural world through the eyes of Dara McAnulty, an autistic teenager coping with the uprooting of home, school, and his mental health, while pursuing his life as a conservationist and environmental activist. Shifting from intense darkness to light, recalling his sensory encounters in the wild - with blackbirds, whooper swans, red kites, hen harriers, frogs, dandelions, Irish hares and more - McAnulty reveals worlds we have neglected to see, in a stunning world of nature writing that is a future classic. Diary of a Young Naturalist is a powerful and scintillating portrayal of the beauty of the natural world, as it shines a light on autism and of overcoming severe anxiety. It is a story of the binding love of family and home, and how we can help each other through the most difficult of times. ___________ BIG ISSUE BOOK OF THE YEAR HAY FESTIVAL BOOK OF THE YEAR A TIMES NATURE BOOK OF THE YEAR 'An extraordinary diary' The Times 'A torrent of pure, unmediated fervour . . . This is writing at its wild and unruly best' Dr Rachel Clarke 'Diary of a Young Naturalist is not only one of the finest pieces of modern nature writing produced on this island in recent years, McAnulty is one of our best young writers in any genre' Irish Independent 'An exceptional new voice. Dara McAnulty celebrates nature in such a fresh way and illuminates our understanding of autism' Martha Kearney, chair of the Baillie Gifford Prize 2020 'One of the most talented and passionate writers of our era' Steve Silberman, award-winning author of NeuroTribes ___________

Join brilliant young naturalist Dara McAnulty – winner of the 2020 Wainwright Prize for his book Diary of a Young Naturalist – on a nature walk and experience the joy of connecting with the natural world on your multi sensory journey.

This beautiful gift book, illustrated in full colour by Barry Falls, is divided into five sections: looking out of the window, venturing out into the garden, walking in the woods, investigating heathland and wandering on the river bank.

Dara pauses to tell you about each habitat and provides fantastic facts about the native birds, animals and plants you will find there – including wrens, blackbirds, butterflies, tadpoles, bluebells, bees, hen harriers, otters, dandelions, oak trees and many more.

Each section contains a discovery section where you will have a closer look at natural phenomenon such as metamorphoses and migration, learn about categorization in the animal kingdom or become an expert on the collective nouns for birds.

Each section finishes with an activity to do when you get home: plant wild flowers, make a bird feeder, try pond dipping, make a journey stick and build a vivarium.

Dara ends the book with advice for young conservationists and how to follow the countryside code.