Diary of a Young Naturalist: WINNER OF THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING 2020

Clearly a passionate consideration of the beauty of nature in diary form. This is not my usual genre but I appreciated the detail and heartfelt nature of the seasonal entries.

Beautifully written description of an autistic teenage boy’s intense connection with the natural world. Amazing writing, especially for one so young. At first I thought I wouldn’t enjoy it as the prose is highly descriptive and almost florid. But after a few pages I was hooked and allowed myself to be swept up by his poetic love letter to nature. As a teacher it made me feel we often underestimate not just autistic children but children in general.