When they created the most recent edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary, they removed around forty nature words and replaced them with tech words. Somewhere, a committee decided that these nature words were no longer important enough for children to know or use, so they were removed from the dictionary as our society moves toward a virtual era. The Lost Words is a spellbook of sorts, a hope and desire for these words to still remain in circulation among the up-and-coming generations.
I really enjoyed this book. A coworker showed it to me because she knew how much I love words and the English language, and she was right: I loved this book. First of all, it's huge. It's like a coffee table art book, and I think that makes it all the more magical. Second of all, it's an all-around beautiful book.
The authors take twenty of these lost words and give us a poem, a single-page illustration, and two double-page illustrations for each word. All of the artwork is done in watercolor, which is my very favorite medium, and I loved it all. The poems are magical and engaging as well.
I was really surprised to learn that among the words removed from the dictionary were acorn, otter, raven, willow, ivy, and even dandelion. Those are all common words I used as a child and still use today, so it's sad to know that technology is taking over our lives so much that kids don't even need to know what a dandelion is anymore.
Overall, this book was very lovely. I recommend it to all children, plus any nature lovers, art lovers, or word lovers out there. It's a beautiful addition to any book collection.
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