Most Popular Books by Jackie Morris

From the creators of the internationally bestselling, award-winning, multi-adapted phenomenon The Lost Words: a dazzling celebration of birdlife, re-imagining the classic field guide for a new generation of nature lovers A great thinning of the skies is underway. Around 50% of bird species are in decline worldwide. Our dawns and springs are quieter each year than the last. It does not have to be this way -- but we will not save what we do not love. The Book of Birds is a compendium of forty-nine bird species, from Avocet to Yellowhammer, all of which are presently declining or endangered. Inspired by the classic bird-books with which the authors grew up, this is a field guide with a difference. It asks not ''What is that bird?'', but ''Who is that bird?'' It shows its readers how to identify birds, but also how to identify with them. With lyrical precision and playfulness, Robert Macfarlane evokes each bird''s habits and habitats -- their patterns of flight and of song, how they nest and hunt, the threats which shadow them, and how their wild lives intersect with ours. And on every page we encounter Jackie Morris''s exhilarating artwork, painted in watercolour and gold, animated by an extraordinary attention to detail and sense of life. Set among this dazzling flock of species are seven sections celebrating the ''Seven Wonders'' that together make up the everyday miracle of ''Bird'': Nest, Egg, Beak, Song, Feather, Flight and Migration. Seven years in the making, The Book of Birds is a love letter to the splendours and mysteries of birdlife, and a clarion call to halt the loss of birds from land, sea and sky. From Dipper to Dunnock and Kestrel to Kingfisher, from mountain to ocean and city to river, Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane conjure the unique spirit and lifeway of each species. This is a book to be treasured by bird-lovers of all ages, and a future classic work of reference.

From the co-author of The Lost Words and The Lost Spells comes seven richly illustrated fables of transformation and power, summoned from the ancient stones beneath our feet and transformed by word and image into portals between past and future. These tales from the stones are neither new nor old. They are full of ‘wild folk’, shape-shifting spirits that carry the energy that connects all things. You will meet selkies and silver trout and the black fox, as big as a wolf and so fast and cunning she drives the lord of the manor to madness and oblivion; the woman of flowers who is happier living as an owl; the boy who learns to feel the songs and stories of trees through his skin; Wayland, the smith who can hammer metal to such airy thinness he makes his own wings; and the great white raven, a bird so rare it awakens the king who sleeps beneath the stones of the wild west cliffs of Wales. This book brings together the words of Jackie Morris and the stained-glass paintings of Tamsin Abbott, but the stories come from both, a true collaboration born out of friendship and hope. These are tales to make you see, listen and most of all feel the wild magic that links stone, tree, fox and star.

Back in a time when people and animals lived together in harmony, a bear-child is stolen away from his mother. A hunter and his wife find the child and, wrapping him in sealskin, they sing him songs of the ice, the wind and the great white bears. One day the child wanders off and a bear comes to take him back to his mother. But by now the hunter is on the trail, determined to kill the creature that has taken his child… Set in the pristine polar regions of the Arctic, Jackie Morris''s beautiful story reminds us that we are caretakers of these wild creatures and our actions directly affect their future. To listen to a reading of Ice Bear click here

In this enchanting book, Jackie Morris conjures a world where everyone has their own dragon, exploring all their variety through lyrical text and beautifully realised illustrations.

Where the water churns with salmon, thick and rich with leaping fishes, there the brown bear stands and catches the wild king of the river. With stunning watercolour paintings, this lyrical picture book describes eight bears from all over the world, all shown in their wild habitats: Black Bear, Polar Bear, Sloth Bear, Spectacle Bear, Sunbear, Panda, Moonbear, Brown Bear. But which is the best bear of all? Your own teddy bear of course!

With contributions by: William Boyd, Candice Carty-Williams, Imtiaz Dharker, Roddy Doyle, Pico Iyer, Robert Macfarlane, Andy Miller, Jackie Morris, Jan Morris, Sisonke Msimang, Dina Nayeri, Chigozie Obioma, Michael Ondaatje, David Pilling, Max Porter, Philip Pullman, Alice Pung, Jancis Robinson, S.F.Said, Madeleine Thien, Salley Vickers, John Wood and Markus Zusak ''This story, like so many stories, begins with a gift. The gift, like so many gifts, was a book...'' So begins the essay by Robert Macfarlane that inspired this collection. In this cornucopia of an anthology, you will find essays by some of the world''s most beloved novelists, nonfiction writers, essayists and poets. ''You will see books taking flight in flocks, migrating around the world, landing in people''s hearts and changing them for a day or a year or a lifetime. ''You will see books sparking wonder or anger; throwing open windows into other languages, other cultures, other minds; causing people to fall in love or to fight for what is right. ''And more than anything, over and over again, you will see books and words being given, received and read - and in turn prompting further generosity.'' Published to coincide with the 20th anniversary of global literacy non-profit, Room to Read, The Gifts of Reading forms inspiring, unforgettable, irresistible proof of the power and necessity of books and reading. Inspired by Robert Macfarlane Curated by Jennie Orchard

Dazzlingly beautiful and wonderfully inventive, discover the magical new book from the creators of bestselling, critically acclaimed literary phenomenon, The Lost Words... Kindred in spirit to The Lost Words but fresh in its form, The Lost Spells is a pocket-sized treasure that introduces a beautiful new set of natural spell-poems and artwork by beloved creative duo Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris. As in The Lost Words, these "spells" take their subjects from relatively commonplace, and yet underappreciated, animals, birds, trees and flowers -- from Barn Owl to Red Fox, Grey Seal to Silver Birch, Jay to Jackdaw. But they break out of the triptych format of The Lost Words, finding new shapes, new spaces and new voices with which to conjure. Written to be read aloud, painted in brushstrokes that call to the forest, field, riverbank and also to the heart, The Lost Spells summons back what is often lost from sight and care, and inspires protection and action on behalf of the natural world. Above all, it celebrates a sense of wonder, bearing witness to nature''s power to amaze, console and bring joy. Praise for The Lost Words: ''Gorgeous to look at and to read. Give it to a child to bring back the magic of language'' Jeanette Winterson, Guardian ''Breathtaking, magical... Jackie Morris has created something that you could spend all day looking at'' New Statesman ''Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris have made a thing of astonishing beauty'' Observer

Spell Songs is a musical companion piece to The Lost Words: A Spell Book by author Robert Macfarlane and artist Jackie Morris. This mixed media CD is accompanied by sumptuous illustrations from Jackie Morris, new ''spells'' by Robert Macfarlane, enlightening thoughts by Robert, Jackie and Spell Singer Karine Polwart and stunning photography by Elly Lucas. In 2018 Folk by the Oak Festival commissioned Spell Songs because of their love of The Lost Words book. Spell Songs comprises eight remarkable musicians whose music engages deeply with landscape and nature; musicians who are perfectly placed to respond to the creatures, art and language of The Lost Words. They spent a week in Herefordshire bringing this music together in the company of Jackie Morris. Art inspired music and music inspired art. Jackie Morris immersed herself in the musical residency where she generously created new iconesque artwork of each musician and their instruments portrayed in an unexpected and enchanting way. These stunning new artworks accompany the CD. Spell Songs allowed these acclaimed and diverse musicians to weave together elements of British folk music, Senegalese folk traditions, and experimental and classical music to create an inspiring new body of work. Here are 14 songs which capture the essence of The Lost Words book. Spoken voice, whispers, accents, dialects, native languages, proverbs, sayings, birdsong, river chatter and insect hum all increase the intimacy of the musical world conjured by the songs. Inspired by the words, art and ethos of The Lost Words book, each musician brings new imaginings, embellishments and diversions which are rooted in personal experience, a deep respect for the natural world, protest at the loss of nature and its language and an appreciation for wildness and beauty.

"At last all were gathered inside the ark. It heaved with animals, large and small. Mrs Noah wore a brand-new coat, with a hood and a cape - and very deep pockets. Lots of pockets."When Mr Noah builds the ark, he makes two lists - one for all the animals who will come on board and one for those troublesome creatures he will leave behind. Meanwhile, Mrs Noah gets out her sewing machine and makes a coat with very deep pockets. Lots of pockets.

A cat sleeps, curled up in a warm place, and while it sleeps it dreams. . . of being a tiger, flame cat of the forest; a cheetah - fast as the wind on the African plains; a lion, lounging through the heat of the day, tangled in sunshine on the African savannah; a jaguar, perfectly camouflaged deep in the jungle. And the cat dreams of being a lynx, a puma, a snow leopard, a Scottish wild cat, an Asian fishing cat, and the rare Amur leopard. Finally Cat wakes, a domestic cat again, telling his dreams to the child who is stroking him. Ten wild habitats, ten wild cats and one domestic cat are dramatically and beautifully illustrated in this unique celebration of the cat.

In a faraway forest a baby is lost and found, protected by a she-panda. Nine years later another baby, the panda''s child, is in great danger, and only a boy and the spirit of the forest can save him.

Describes the characteristics and habits of a variety of bears

A gorgeous, fully-illustrated novella about an Inuit boy and a lost arctic fox.