Review
'I can't think of a girl aged between eight and eighteen who wouldn't enjoy this little gem of a book.'
(Jill Murphy, The Bookbag )'The characters are beautifully developed ... recorded with such humour and sensitivity that it is an engrossing, sometimes laugh-out-loud story.'
(Write Away )
'McKay has created a boisterous, chaotic family which always makes me want to rush out and adopt three sisters.' (TES )
PRAISE FOR THE CASSON FAMILY BOOKS:
'Hilary McKay's wittily observed portrayals of family life are full of warmth, vitality and irrepressible good humour.'
'McKay has a genius for domestic comedy.' (The Sunday Times )
'Hilary McKay's strength lies in her understanding of young people and her ability to evoke them very simply.' (The Guardian ) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Product Description
The Conroys are no ordinary family. For a start, they don't have a television. Nor are they allowed to keep pets. And Mr and Mrs Conroy never take their daughters - Ruth, Naomi, Rachel and Phoebe - on holiday. But then Mr and Mrs Conroy inherit GBP5000, and, to their daughters' dismay, decide to spend it redecorating the house over the summer. So the girls are packed off to Big Grandma's house for the holidays, where lots of chores and horribly long walks await them. At first it seems as though Big Grandma is determined to put a stop to any fun. But, being Conroys, the girls soon find novel ways to entertain themselves, and start having as many adventures and mishaps as usual ...and after a while, even Big Grandma doesn't seem so bad ...
From the Publisher
Published simultaneously with the other books in the trilogy, The Exiles at Home and The Exiles in Love. The Dog This, the first of Hilary McKay's award-winning novels, won the Guardian Children's Award.
From the Back Cover
The Conroy sisters – Rachel, Naomi, Ruth and Phoebe – are sent to their grandmother’s house for the summer. Big Grandma’s idea of fun involves long walks and lots of chores, so the sisters are soon forced to invent their own entertainments: Phoebe fishes in a bucket, Rachel writes a very odd diary, Naomi goes digging and Rachel tries to swim to the Isle of Man.
Meanwhile, Big Grandma has a mysterious secret of her own…
Winner of The Guardian Award
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.About the Author
Hilary McKay won the Guardian Children's Award with her first novel, The Exiles. Her subsequent work has achieved similar recognition - The Exiles at Home won the Smarties Prize and the Dog Friday trilogy was critically acclaimed. A graduate of Botany and Zoology from St Andrews University, Hilary now writes full-time. She lives in Derbyshire with her husband and children.
