Lost words book delivered to 100 primary schools

The books were presented to all 100 schools thanks to St Leger and Doncaster Rotary Clubs who joined forces and put up around half the cost of the books.

Crowdfunding organised by writer and author Phil Sheppard raised the remainder of the cash for the books and Doncaster Waterstones supplied copies of the book at a 35 per cent discount.

Speaking about the book delivery John Chapman from the Rotary Club of Doncaster St Leger said: “The books have been very well received with many schools sharing their plans for a wide range of activities based upon the poems and what they refer to as the “stunning” and “spellbinding” illustrations in this “wonderful” book.”

In 2007 and then in 2012, words associated with the natural world such as ‘conker’, ‘kingfisher’ and ‘bluebell’ were removed from the Oxford Junior Dictionary to make room for more modern vocabulary such as ‘blog’ and ‘chatroom’. ‘The Lost Words’ by poet Robert Macfarlane and illustrator Jackie Morris, was published to reinstate these words.

Two copies of the book were also presented to staff at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park at the otter enclosure by pupils of the Bessacarr Primary School.

One of the book’s iconic illustrations features two otters. It is hoped that the books can be used in educational activities at the park.