Charlotte Moore

Ireland through the eyes of a brilliant teenage naturalist

Whether describing the seabirds of Rathlin Island or a forest park in Co. Down, Dara McAnulty’s autistic intensity is extraordinary

Guillemots on Rathlin Island, Ireland. Credit: Getty Images

Dara McAnulty is a teenage naturalist from Northern Ireland. He has autism; so do his brother, sister and mother — his father, a conservation scientist, is the odd one out. This book records a year in the life of a gifted boy in an unusual family. Minutely detailed observations of birds, insects, trees and weather are woven into an ecstatic description of the unrolling of the seasons.

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