Dappled Annie and the Tigrish

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Additional Details

Title

Dappled Annie and the Tigrish

ISBN

9781927271155

Author

by Mary McCallum
illustrated by Annie Hayward

Publisher

Gecko Press

Publication Date

1 February 2014

Format

EPUB

Reading Options

Web browser / App
Adobe Digital Editions

Number of Pages

138

Filesize

12.13 MB

Language

English

NBS Text

Children's Fiction

ONIX Text

Children/juvenile

Reviews

Gr 3-5 Annie's home in a coastal, remote area brings her close to the natural world. She and younger brother Robbie, whose presence is sometimes a bit of an annoyance to Annie, explore their world with curiosity and excitement. Annie is particularly engaged by a row of hedges that have names, personalities, and the ability to communicate verbally with her. The main hedges, Mr. and Mrs. Hedge, discover a nest of baby birdsfantailsin their branches, and vow to protect them. Throughout their long lives as hedges and caretakers of nests, they 'haven't lost a bird yet.' When an earthquake and devastating wind storm disrupts the landscape, the bird's nest goes missing. Annie, Robbie, and Mr. and Mrs. Hedgewho can detach themselves from the earth and sprout legs to walkare determined to find the fantails. With the help of a mysterious tigerlike creature, the Tigrish, the group sets off on an adventure through an unfriendly forest and an unfamiliar beach to locate the missing nest. Fans of magical adventures along the lines of Daniel Pinkwater's Mrs. Noodlekugel (Candlewick, 2012) will enjoy this mystical romp, though some esoteric writing may confuse more literal readers.  School Library Journal  In this exceptional debut novel for middle graders, Annie's quest to retrieve a blown-away birds' nest becomes more magical, dangerous and urgent than she ever anticipated. This magical adventure is set on the coast of New Zealand, where Annie lives with her mother, little brother and fathera lighthouse keeper whose unexpected absence has just begun to concern his family. The story begins on the cusp of Annie's 10th birthday, when Annie's usual visit to her unusual friendsa row of hedgesturns into a grand adventure that has hints of The Neverending Story and A Wrinkle in Time. By the time her birthday has arrived, Annie has learned that being 'dappled' is a good thing, and she has proven to herself that she is capable of good decision-making and heroic bravery. Elements of magical realism fold beautifully into the story, as do the moments when Annie is testing a young person's version of situational ethics. The warm family relationships add to the story's charm: 'On one hand, her brother was loud and sticky and annoying, but on the other hand, he knew interesting things about animals and snuggled up when she read to him.' Nature facts mingle easily with the supernatural, and gentle humor is omnipresent. Both cinematic and pleasingly literary, this will keep readers entranced.  starred, Kirkus Reviews  Annie is almost 10, and she has always paid attention to the small things in nature: the shape of the leaves on the trees, what the birds are saying. She knows the namesand voicesof each of the trees in the nearby hedgerow, and when a huge gust of wind rips a nest of baby fantails out of a tree, Annie must try to find the nest and restore it to the hedgerow. Complicating matters is the absence of her father, who tends the nearby lighthouse at night but returns home each morning; only he hasn't returned this day. Could it be connected to the huge gust of wind? Or to the early morning earthquake? When a magical being called a tigrish appears, Annie must decide if it can be trusted to find the birds, her father, and what home truly is. Set on the New Zealand coast and enhanced with several soft paintings by Hayward, this venture into magical realism for young readers is a lush adventure reminiscent of a gentled Roald Dahl tale. Annie's day leads her to explore not only nature but also loyalty and family and what it truly means to be brave.  Booklist

By Mary McCallum, Illustrated by Annie Hayward

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