Love Is A Toad

‘Tender, connected and considered, but also brilliant, bold and brave. Lucy bares her truths, and ours, as she stands up for nature’ – Chris Packham, author of Fingers in the Sparkle JarLucy Lapwing writes about nature the way we actually experience it - messy, moving, funny and deeply human. Love Is a Toad captures the feelings of being outdoors in a way I’ve rarely read before. It made me slow down, look closer, and feel more. Lucy has an extraordinary gift for turning small encounters into moments of wonder. – Dr Amir Kahn, author of The Doctor Will See You NowUplifting, defiant, galvanising. If anyone can help us see the world as one living, imperfect, astonishing being to hold close it’s Lucy and her glorious Love is a Toad. – Sophie Pavelle, author of To Have or To HoldA sweet champagne of a book, Love is a Toad is effervescent with love and wonder for the living world. Lapwing welcomes in her readers with prose that conveys the science of her subjects with a seriousness balanced with fun, and leaves us knowing we can all make a difference - and that we must – Chantal Lyons, author of GroundbreakersLucy Lapwing writes with infectious curiosity and tenderness about the natural world. Love Is A Toad beautifully captures the contradictions of loving nature in an age of loss-the joy and the grief, the wonder and the worry. This is a luminous book that reminds us why we care, and why that matters. – Freya Bromley, author of The Tidal YearWhat a splendid book. Lucy has done something nearly impossible which is to make British nature writing fun… I highly recommend reading this if you’re in need of laughing out loud at the wonderment and astounding complexity of the world around us and of seeing it through the eyes of someone who truly cares about the future. – Merlin Hanbury-Tenison, author of Our Oaken BonesA marvellous celebration of our wildlife here in the UK written by one of our best naturalists! A joy from start to finish – Hannah Stitfall, presenter and wildlife filmmakerIn Love is a Toad, Lucy has spun a web of whimsical wonder. It is a joy to read - information trickling past your defences until you find yourself far deeper than you imagined going. It is filled with joy, grief, love, and many a squishy bum! – Hugh Warwick, author of Cull of the Wild

Lucy Lapwing grew up in west Lancashire in the 90s. As a kid, she was fascinated by things that scuttled and fluttered and slimed, but it was only as an adult that she really came to know the nature under her nose. Now a wildlife campaigner, Lucy writes about nature on Instagram and works behind the scenes on BBC Springwatch. Outside - and indeed inside - of work, you’re likely to spot her rootling in the mud, collecting feathers and bones, or whispering compliments to spiders. Lucy now lives on the Isle of Bute.