A Little Boy Lost

Martin grows up on a lonely plain, where his parents have built a house, garden and orchard after leaving England. His father, John, loves carpentry, while Martin finds company among household animals, birds, butterflies and the small creatures outside the gate. When he brings a spotted snake indoors, his parents see danger in the living treasure he proudly carries. His mother's remembered dream of a swallow gives this opening a hint of the unusual adventures ahead.

W. H. Hudson's children's fantasy follows a boy whose curiosity brings him into unfamiliar company. In one episode, Martin lives among wild horses and a strange man who tries to feed him grass before finding something he can drink. Close attention to animals and plants gives the story its particular texture, alongside moments of bewilderment and rough treatment. Readers interested in nature writing within children's fiction will find a tale shaped by a child's trust, physical needs and growing experience of the world.