Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Three children, Eily (12), Michael (9) and Peggy (7) are left to fend for themselves, their father went to work on some roadworks scheme and their mother has left to look for her husband. This is the late 1840s in Ireland, the potato crop has failed and the people are starving. To escape the workhouse the three children embark on a long journey to Castletaggart to find their great aunts. On their travels they see the horrors of the famine and the accompanying fevers, they see ships being loaded with grain for England, while the Irish starve. This is a gripping tale for children about resilience in adversity and shines a light on a dark chapter in Irish and British history.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Animal death, Genocide
Even though it's a children's book, I had never read it before now and I feel like I missed out. I would have enjoyed this when I was younger and I think it helps teach about the potato famine in an engaging way.
I purchased this book at the Foxford Woolen Mills when I was in Ireland.
It's a children's book but it gives you a quick look at what things must have been like for families during the famine. I would recommend it for kids, it would help them understand the lives of the children and the hardships they had to face during that time.
I wish Foxford had had the other books for sale at the time, now I will have to see if I can get them to continue the story.
It's a children's book but it gives you a quick look at what things must have been like for families during the famine. I would recommend it for kids, it would help them understand the lives of the children and the hardships they had to face during that time.
I wish Foxford had had the other books for sale at the time, now I will have to see if I can get them to continue the story.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It’s a classic! Everyone should read it. I did find, reading it now, as an adult, that it feels more rushed than I’d like, that it didn’t sit in each moment or emotion for long enough for me to really feel the stakes the way I’d expect to, but it’s not written for adults; it’s for kids. I know I had certainly felt the pacing was enough to terrify me as a child, so that’s not really a criticism, just an observation for anyone who might read it for the first time now as an adult.
Reading this as a child, I had no visual frame of reference for the descriptions of the starving people and how they try to survive other than drawn illustrations in history books. It’s devastating to read it again now and see the real people of Palestine, and what they are going through right now, in every description. Saoirse don Phalaistín.
Reading this as a child, I had no visual frame of reference for the descriptions of the starving people and how they try to survive other than drawn illustrations in history books. It’s devastating to read it again now and see the real people of Palestine, and what they are going through right now, in every description. Saoirse don Phalaistín.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes