Dappled Annie and the Tigrish

Description

There are faces in the hedge at the end of the garden, and a nest of tiny fantails, and that's where 9-year-old Annie goes to play one hot summer while her father works up at the lighthouse. After an earthquake and a terrible wind, Annie is charged with saving the things she cares about. Her little brother Robbie becomes the only person who can help her. Him and the tigrish.

Mary McCallum is a writer, reviewer, bookseller and creative writing tutor. She has an MA in Creative Writing from the International Institute in Modern Letters, and her novel The Blue (Penguin, 2007) won Best First Book Award for Fiction, and the Readers' Choice Award in 2008. Mary lives in Wellington, New Zealand. Dappled Annie and the Tigrish is her first book for children. Annie Hayward is primarily an abstract and a figurative artist. She lives in Wellington, New Zealand.

"[An] exceptional debut novel for middle graders ... Nature facts mingle easily with the supernatural, and gentle humor is omnipresent. Both cinematic and pleasingly literary, this will keep readers entranced." -- Starred Review, Kirkus (US) "Fans of magical adventures along the lines of Daniel Pinkwater's 'Mrs. Noodlekugel' will enjoy this mystical romp." -- School Library Journal (US) "This richly-textured, beautifully written fantasy is a vivid portrayal of a child's growing awareness of the insecurities of the world beyond the garden, while drawing out the magic in everyday life." -- The Source