A bird for every week of the year

A beautifully illustrated little guide to identifying our garden birds, each illustration accompanied by a charmingly humorous ditty!

Author : Matt Sewell

Edition : Hardback, 128 pages

ISBN : 9780091945008

“Art thou the bird whom Man loves best, The pious bird with the scarlet breast, Our little English Robin…” - William Wordsworth, The Redbreast Chasing the Butterfly

In twelve, exquisite chapters, natural history expert Stephen Moss transports us across the robin’s brief but glorious life. 

This is Britain’s favourite bird played out in full. It is an animal of contrasts; the born survivor, so pretty in feather and song, but fiercely territorial. This is a bird given to courage, its modest stature belying its ability to defend its turf. 

Beautifully presented with illustrations lifted from over a century of our shared culture, The Robin: A Biography is both a monthly chronicle of the bird’s life and also an investigation into why it symbolises so much. From being the gardener’s friend to its position in our folklore, Moss reveals this creature to be less a creature of the field as a mirror to ourselves.

Why Novel North recommends

‘This is a wonderfully endearing month by month account of a year in the life of a robin, accompanied with beautiful illustrations. Stephen Moss shares some of the quirky places robins have been found nesting, as well as well as many tidbits you’ll find yourself eagerly recounting to others and looking out for in the coming months.’

Author : Stephen Moss

Edition : Vintage Publishing, Hardback, 208 pages

ISBN : 9781910931318

Weight: 464g
Dimensions: 206 x 138 x 24mm

“Ever dreamed of being an otter? That utter underwater thunderbolter, that shimmering twister.”

Shortlisted for the British Book Awards 30 from 30 Award 2020

Winner of the British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year 2018

Shortlisted for the Waterstones Book of the Year 2017

Shortlisted for the Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize 2018

Shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2019

The Lost Words is a very special illustrated collection of spell-poems to re-wild the language of children. All over the country, there are words disappearing from children's lives. These are the words of the natural world - Dandelion, Otter, Bramble and Acorn, all gone. The rich landscape of wild imagination and wild play is rapidly fading from our children's minds.

Why Novel North recommends

'Meandering through the pages of this big book brings enormous joy. The illustrations are spellbinding and the words magical. A wonderful book for adults and children.’

Author : Robert Macfarlane, Jackie Morris

Edition : Hamish Hamilton imprint of Penguin Books, Hardback, 128 pages

ISBN : 9780241253588

Published : 5th July 2017

Weight: 1469g
Dimensions: 377 x 278 x 16mm

'And the secret garden bloomed and bloomed and every morning revealed new miracles.'

After losing her parents, young Mary Lennox is sent from India to live in her uncle's gloomy mansion on the wild English moors. She is lonely and has no one to play with, but one day she learns of a secret garden somewhere in the grounds that no one is allowed to enter. Then Mary uncovers an old key in a flowerbed - and a gust of magic leads her to the hidden door. Slowly she turns the key and enters a world she could never have imagined.

Why Novel North recommends

'The Secret Garden is a childhood favourite.  And no matter how many times you revisit, the magic always draws you in.  Seeing the world through Mary’s eyes, you feel the sense of wonder as she discovers so many of the secrets of Misselthwaite Estate and surrounding moors, and you come away feeling excited and inspired to make discoveries of your own. It’s magical, enchanting, beautifully articulate and full of mystery and atmosphere.’

Author : Frances Hodgson Burnett

Edition : Puffin Classic, Hardback, 365 pages

ISBN : 9780141336534

Weight: 392g
Dimensions: 184 x 138 x 33mm