DIARY OF A YOUNG NATURALIST

BY DARA MCANULTY, LITTLE TOLLER BOOKS, £16.99

Diary of a Young Naturalist is beautifully written, with a lyrical and even poetic style, capturing the joys of nature. Fifteen-year-old conservationist and activist Dara McAnulty writes from the heart and bares his soul.

The book follows the four seasons, starting with the vernal equinox on 21 March, and details Dara’s experiences of nature near his home in Northern Ireland, his family and the world around him, from the cusp of his 14th birthday and through a year in his life. We travel with him through the “turning of his world”. An adventure on Rathlin Island, a trip to Scotland, a change of house, county and school, as well as his increasing fame and the demands, challenges and conflicts this brings for him.

All of this is seen through the lens of Dara’s autism. Indeed, his whole family’s autism with the exception of his father: “he’s the odd one out”. This lens acts to magnify the beauty Dara sees in the natural world and, through this, helps us to better understand the pleasures we all experience. This contrasts strongly with his experiences in other areas of life: a school classroom with too-bright colours, the noise of people talking causing him physical pain, the challenge of relationships. At times you literally feel Dara’s exhaustion. By providing his perspective, Dara captures the essence of why we all spend time in nature: the excitement, the peace, the solace, the escape from all our problems.

Dr Mya-Rose Craig (aka Birdgirl), activist, environmentalist, blogger