Camping in the garden, riding bikes through the woods, climbing trees, collecting bugs and butterflies, picking wildflowers, running through piles of autumn leaves, cooking over a campfire and telling ghost stories under the stars ... somewhere the pleasures of a free-range childhood have been lost. And with the indoor habits of today's children come other problems - epidemic obesity, attention-deficit disorder, isolation and childhood depression.

This urgent book, which has inspired the influential international movement Leave No Child Inside, has not only highlighted the problem and provoked debate; it also offers practical advice on how to help children to enjoy the natural world - starting in our parks and gardens, homes and schools. This is a clarion call, brilliantly written, compelling and irresistibly persuasive - a book that will change minds and lives.