The Lost Words

“Once upon a time, words began to vanish from the language of children…”

Words like “bramble” and “kingfisher”. Words like “otter” and “wren”. Nature words which used to be part of everyday language fell out of use so much that, in 2007, they were no longer included in the Oxford Junior Dictionary. 

Luckily, there were people who cared about this loss so deeply that they created a special kind of magic to bring them back.

“The Lost Words” is a collection of poetic “spells” and beautiful illustrations by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris based on the words which disappeared from the dictionary. It has since been described as “a much broader protest at the loss of the natural world around us, as well as a celebration of the creatures and plants with which we share our lives, in all their wonderful, characterful glory.”

Inspired by their springtime walks along the River Seine, Years 5 & 6 embarked upon a project to introduce The Lost Words to the rest of the Junior School. Our talented young writers and artists spent their lunch breaks and free time producing beautiful paintings, evocative poetry and clever riddles to introduce the words and ideas to the younger classes. We presented an assembly and devised a treasure hunt where everyone searched for pictures of the lost plants and animals all over the school. 

Over the next few weeks, this will be a springboard for further creative work across the year groups.

This project is only just beginning and already it has been an absolute delight to witness the children’s enthusiasm for bringing these words, and the glorious nature that they represent, back to life.