LoveReading4Kids Says
A new book from Hilary McKay is always a joy – and this one does not disappoint. A newly blended family move into an ivy covered, slightly eerie house that has room for them all. They work to find a way to make their new family grouping compatible. Abi struggles to get used to her two new brothers, Max and young Louis. She resents that she has to share her father Theo, and her Granny Grace’s letters from Jamaica.
The new family all spend time and energy making the house their own, but mysterious things happen as they settle in. Abi seems to be able to fall right into the books she reads until she actually experiences salt spray and the green flash of parrots in the room with her. Similarly, Louis summons a visitor, but as Louis’s visitor becomes more and more frightening, he has to work with Abi and Max to send his visitor back from where it had magically sprung up.
This is a totally engaging read, full of green magic, imagination and family dynamics that feel authentic and realistic. The theme of cooperation and support running through are uplifting, though not necessarily easily achieved. Highly recommended.
Tricia Adams
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The Time of Green Magic Synopsis
Five starred reviews! "An instant classic." --The New York Times Book Review From award-winning author Hilary McKay comes "a memorable family story" (Booklist, starred review) about a girl adjusting to her new home--with the help of a little magic.When Abi's father marries Max and Louis's mom, their families start over together. Abi suddenly finds herself the middle child, expected to share far too much--especially with grubby little Louis. Then they move into an eerie, ivy-covered house, big enough for all of them. But for the children, strange things start to happen in that house. Abi reads alone, and finds herself tumbling so deep into books, they almost seem real. Louis summons comfort from outdoors, and a startling guest arrives--is it a cat or something else? Max loses his best friend...and falls in love. Meanwhile, Louis's secret visitor is becoming much too real. Now Abi, Max, and Louis must uncover the secrets of their new home--for there can be danger in even the most beautiful magic. From award-winning author Hilary McKay comes a story that is at once enchanting and thrilling--if you don't get lost in it first.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781534462779 |
| Publication date: |
6th July 2021 |
| Author: |
Hilary McKay |
| Publisher: |
Margaret K. McElderry Books |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
272 pages |
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Hilary McKay Press Reviews
Hilary McKay has a rare gift for novels about families and their interplay. -- LoveReading4Kids
Vivid, hilarious, and heartbreaking, Hilary McKay's radiant characters touch my heart like real people, friends and loved ones I know well. Possibly the finest writer of our time. -- Elizabeth Wein
wise and kind and utterly heart-wrenching and full of characters you will give your whole heart to -- Anna James
McKay is a superb writer -- Sally Morris - Daily Mail
McKay couples warmth and grace with wry humour like nobody else out there -- Katherine Rundell - The Guardian
Hilary McKay is one of the great writers of children's fiction -- Sarah Hughes - Independent
Picking up a book by Hilary McKay is like slipping on bed socks on a chilly night. She knows how to look after her readers by ensuring that her characters are interesting and loveable from the start . . . -- The Times on The Skylarks' War, selected as Children's Book of the Year
About Hilary McKay
Hilary McKay won the Costa Children's Book Award for The Skylarks' War, the Guardian Fiction Prize for The Exiles, and the Smarties and the Whitbread Award for The Exiles in Love and Saffy's Angel respectively. Hilary McKay's Fairy Tales was her first book with Macmillan Children's Books and is a critically acclaimed collection of clever retellings.
You can read her character Rose Casson's blog by clicking here - and Rose's tweets on the right hand side of this page.
Q & A with Hilary McKay
What is your earliest childhood memory?
Watching steam trains with my grandfather. He died before I was two years
old, so that is a very early memory.
If you could be any animal, what would it be and why?
Well, who could turn down the gift of flight? Or travel without luggage? Or a
life spent following the sun? Without doubt, I would be a swallow. I realise this
means a lifetime of eating flies, but I think it would be worth it.
What is your dream holiday destination?
I would start at the Sangre de Cristo mountains in New Mexico and travel South
through Central America, along the coast to Peru, then down through Chile
across to the Falklands and on to Antarctica, which I would circumnavigate.
Then I would travel North to New Zealand where I would spend a long time
warming up and then across to Australia. I would spend quite a long time in
Sydney and go up into the Blue Mountains (I might go sapphire hunting there)
and then to the Great Barrier Reef (of course).
That would be far enough for me.
What is your morning routine?
Alas, I do not have a morning routine.
If you could have one special talent, what would it be?
Singing, undoubtedly. That would make me the happiest. But I have a friend
whose talent is languages and I envy that one very much.
Likes: Millions of things! Books, cats, honey, letters from readers (hint, hint), real music, apples, swimming in cold water, chocolate coated ginger biscuits, trees.
Dislikes: Putting things away, litter, loud TV, hot rooms, being told what to think.
3 words that best descibe me: Untidy, happy, hopeful!
A Secret that not many people know: I am a VERY slow reader!
More About Hilary McKay
