10/11/2026
Well, guess what? The Crisp and Read and Co Books are presenting a very intimate evening with the renowned visual artist, UK's Jackie Morris, at the Pender Island Hall, Monday, October 19th, at 7pm, admission by donation. We are thrilled to present this night! Read below for details. Jackie's latest book, co written with the UK poet, Robert MacFarlane, "The Book of Birds" will be available courtesy of sponsors Talisman Books. Thanks to co sponsors Ptarmigan Arts, Pender Island Conservancy and Anansi Publishing Ptarmigan Arts Talisman Books & Gallery Pender Radio
Jackie Morris has written or illustrated more than 70 books, including the beloved children’s classics Tell Me a Dragon and East of the Sun, West of the Moon, and a volume of modern folklore for readers of all ages, Wild Folk, co-created with Tamsin Abbott. She introduced and illustrated Barbara Newhall Follett’s gem of wild literature, The House Without Windows. Morris is the award-winning co-creator (with Robert Macfarlane) of The Lost Words and The Lost Spells, which have captured the hearts of hundreds of thousands of readers of all ages. In 2018, she won the Kate Greenaway Medal and the British Book Awards Children’s Book of the Year for The Lost Words.
Her artwork is held by public art collections in the U.K. and U.S. and has been published in the New Statesman, Independent, and Guardian among other venues. Morris tours and performs with the Spell Songs ensemble around the U.K. and is a Fellow of Herefordshire Art College.
• Website: jackiemorris.co.uk
• Instagram/Threads:
The Book of Birds
From the creators of the internationally bestselling, award-winning, multi-adapted phenomenon The Lost Words: a dazzling celebration of birdlife, re-imagining the classic field guide for a new generation of nature lovers
A great thinning of the skies is underway. Around 50% of bird species are in decline worldwide. Our dawns and springs are quieter each year than the last. It does not have to be this way—but we will not save what we do not love.
The Book of Birds is a compendium of 49 bird species, from Avocet to Yellowhammer, all of which are declining or endangered. Inspired by the classic bird-books with which the authors grew up, this is a field guide with a difference. It asks not “What is that bird?”, but “Who is that bird?” It shows its readers how to identify birds, but also how to identify with them.
