Diary of a Young Naturalist

McAnulty, a teenage naturalist and environmental activist from Northern Ireland, had already earned a degree of fame via social media when he became the youngest winner of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Medal. For his new book, he was also the youngest winner of the Wainright Prize for UK nature writing. Published in the United States for the first time, McAnulty’s volume presents a yearly account of natural history, season by season. His lyrical descriptions of birds, insects, landscape, and seascapes are beyond his years, yet he also candidly relates the teenage angst of dealing with bullying and trying to find a place in the world. Though description of the natural world predominates here, McAnulty’s narration of his inner thoughts is sometimes more informative. He discusses being on the autism spectrum and writes that dealing with other people and conventional school prove particularly challenging for him; it is in nature and his family that he finds refuge.