Diary of a Young Naturalist

Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty covers the turning of a year in northern Ireland, as observed by the sixteen-year-old naturalist. From spring, with the return of birds and flowers, through the year, until everything is ready to wake up again. The world, as seen by Dara, will captivate you. From the smallest insect, to the movement of the oceans, Dara’s perspective on the world is amazingly clear and profound. He documents not only nature’s struggles, but his own, in relating to things outside of the natural world, describing how he finds clarity and a haven in nature. His keen self-awareness and awareness of the world around him, even as he grasps to relate to parts of it, is both relateable and touching.
Dara’s is a wonderful voice in the genre of nature writing. The prose of this book is a lyrical interweaving of nature, society, and mythology. Through the author’s unique view of nature and mythology, through his lens of activism and autism, he shows how we all need more curiosity, wonder, and awe of the fragile world around us.