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MCW Books

Lost Wonders

By May 8, 2024June 19th, 2024No Comments

The story of the lost wonders of New Zealand’s natural history: the extinct species that are now gone forever. Lost Wonders also features some key species that are on the brink – critically endangered – and the efforts that are being made to save them for future generations.

Story by Sarah Ell. Illustrations by Phoebe Morris.

moa • piopio • huia • laughing owl • grayling • meriki • Hutton’s rail • Haast’s eagle • Chatham Island bellbird • bush wren • adzebill • Chatham Islands fernbird • Eyles’ harrier • greater short-tailed bat • Hawkins’ rail • kawekaweau • koreke • Lyall’s wren • moho • South Island snipe • whekau

These are just some of the lost wonders of Aotearoa. Here are their stories.

Read an interview with Sarah Ell about Lost Wonders for the Sapling.

Lost Wonders

by Sarah Ell

Allen & Unwin

ISBN: 9781988547442 

Published: March 2020

Format: Paperback, 304 pages

Sarah Ell

Sarah Ell was born and raised on Auckland's North Shore in a conservation-minded family, and has always had a close relationship with nature and the outdoors. Sarah trained as a newspaper journalist before working in magazines and book publishing, and has a Bachelor of Arts in New Zealand history from Massey University and a Master of Creative Writing from the University of Auckland. She is the author of 10 books, several of them for young people, including Sirocco, the Rock Star Kakapo (2012). She still lives on the North Shore with her husband, yacht designer Rob Shaw, and their two children.