2023 - 05

Es un libro interesante que destaca de alguna forma en el el mar de libros de naturalistas. Dara McAnulty es un activista de 15 años (cuando escribió el libro) con sídrome de Asperger que desde su infancia encuentra refugio en la naturaleza y se vuelca en el activismo para superar sus problemas.

No es el mejor libro que he leído sobre este tema, las descripciones son bastante repetitivas y sin nada de particular, pero la perspectiva es diferente y merece la pena descubrir, junto a la naturaleza irlandesa desglosada en las cuatro estaciones, el acoso escolar, los problemas relacionales, la vida de una familia al servicio de dos hijos autistas (o tres, no estoy segura) y la forma en que superan los problemas. Irlanda (Belfast) omnipresente, lo que también añade interés al libro.

Existe una versión española publicada por Volcano en traducción de Inmaculada Pérez Parra.

Diary of a Young Naturalist is a very well-written book by a talented young man. I learned so much about nature and autism though this book. The book is an award winning book and deservingly so. The writing and details are superb! Highly recommend! ( )

Beautiful book. I wished I had an Ireland Bird guide during my time with this book. I was forever "googling" the birds that aren't in the USA. As a nature and Birder, I adored this reading experience. ( )

A beautiful book written by an autistic teenager with a passion for nature. In a diary format it looks through his eyes at the natural world, as well as touching on his mental health and family. Well deserving of the awards it has won, this is a great book for anyone with a similar love of nature, or anyone wanting to understand more about an autistic view of the world.

“I have the heart of a naturalist, the head of a would-be scientist, and bones of someone who is already wearied by the apathy and destruction wielded against the natural world.”

“Skylarks are our Sunday choir as we walk out west, the landscape our place of worship, as it always is.”

Nature became so much more than an escape; it became a life-support system."

Dara McAnulty is a fifteen year old autistic boy from Northern Ireland. He is also brilliant, a dedicated activist, and a budding naturalist. He is also a born writer, in clear evidence here, as he chronicles his life, following the seasons of one year. He has an impressive knowledge of birds but owns a deep devotion to all of nature's wonders, which leads into a fierce retaliation against climate change. The memoir also shines a light on what it means to be autistic, including the brutality of bullying. This is an excellent introduction to Mr. McAnulty and we should be hearing a lot more from this promising young man. ( )