Diary of a Young Naturalist by 15-year-old Dara McAnulty has recently been awarded the 2020 Wainwright Prize for nature writing. It is an extraordinary book about a boy with autism and his intense connection to the natural world. It has been described as a book set to break the mould of modern nature writing, and readers will marvel the sensitive, evocative and deeply moving diary entries that provide the format for the novel.
It would be an excellent choice as a class novel and Teachers’ Notes are available here.