The Lost Words and The Lost Spells

By Chris Hubbard, Education Director

“We do not care for what we do not know, and on the whole we do not know what we cannot name. Do we want an alphabet for children that begins ‘A is for Acorn, B is for Buttercup, C is for Conker’; or one that begins ‘A is for Attachment, B is for BlockGraph, C is for Chatroom’?”

—Robert Macfarlane, The Guardian, Jan. 13, 2015. Acorn. Bramble. Fern. Raven. These are just 4 out of 40 words dropped from the 2007 edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary due to their not being used frequently enough by children to merit inclusion in the dictionary. Taking their place: blog, cut-and-paste, voice-mail. As children become more and more removed from the natural world, it is no wonder that their language reflects that disconnect from nature and the words that tell of nature.

In response, author Robert Macfarlane and illustrator Jackie Morris set out to bring back those lost words, both through the naming of lost words and by conjuring lost words up through spells in two delightful, intriguing books: The Lost Words (2017), and The Lost Spells (2020).

The Lost Words presents twenty individual words, each starting with a scattering of letters across the page and a hint of what is to come. Acrostic poems then speak to the essence of each word. For “Otter”:

The book’s coffee-table size and its larger-than-life, beautifully rendered watercolors draw you into the natural world and begs you to stretch out on the floor with a youngster so as to be properly absorbed into the book.

In contrast, the sister book The Lost Spells is small enough to fit into a jacket pocket and perfect for bringing along on a nature walk. The reader is encouraged to speak the words aloud: “…there has always been singing in dark times – and wonder is needed now more than ever,” and the book features a glossary that comes with a challenge “to seek out each flower and insect…speak to each creature, find each tree.” Readers are encouraged to head out into the garden and the park, the woods and the rivers, the seashore and the forest, to seek out that which is named on the pages.

Species are being lost to extinction as habitats are being lost to development, languages are fading away as speakers pass away and words disappear when not spoken. We can work to reclaim that which is in danger of being lost, starting by speaking those names, by seeking out those natural spaces and by working to protect them. We can work to “rewild childhood” and help children engage with the natural world and reclaim those lost words. Start by taking a youngster you know outside to seek out and name that which you find. Acorn. Bramble. Fern. Raven.

To learn more about The Lost Words and The Lost Spells, and to access resources focused on the books, including musical compositions and teachers’ guides, go to www.thelostwords.org and www.johnmuirtrust.org/john-muir-award/ideasand-resources/literacy-and-nature/the-lost-words .