A BuzzFeed Best Book of June 2021
From sixteen-year-old Dara McAnulty, a globally renowned figure in the
youth climate activist movement, comes a memoir about loving the natural
world and fighting to save it.
Diary of a Young Naturalist chronicles the turning of a year in Dara's
Northern Ireland home patch. Beginning in spring―when "the sparrows dig
the moss from the guttering and the air is as puffed out as the robin's
chest―these diary entries about his connection to wildlife and the way
he sees the world are vivid, evocative, and moving.
As well as Dara's intense connection to the natural world, Diary of a
Young Naturalist captures his perspective as a teenager juggling exams,
friendships, and a life of campaigning. We see his close-knit family,
the disruptions of moving and changing schools, and the complexities of
living with autism. "In writing this book," writes Dara, "I have
experienced challenges but also felt incredible joy, wonder, curiosity
and excitement. In sharing this journey my hope is that people of all
generations will not only understand autism a little more but also
appreciate a child's eye view on our delicate and changing biosphere."
Winner of the Wainwright Prize for UK nature writing and already sold
into more than a dozen territories, Diary of a Young Naturalist is a
triumphant debut from an important new voice.
