Most Popular Books by Hilary McKay

A Boston Globe Best Book of 2018 A Horn Book Best Book of 2018 “Vivid, hilarious, and heartbreaking.” —Elizabeth Wein, New York Times bestselling author of Code Name Verity “The best children’s book I’ve read this year.” —Katherine Rundell, Boston Globe–Horn Book Award–winning author of Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms “A near-miraculous balance of light and joyous touch with sometimes serious and even heartbreaking material.” —BCCB (starred review) From award-winning author Hilary McKay comes a “wholly satisfying” (Booklist, starred review) story full of wit, heartbreak, and hope as a girl fights for her independence during World War I. Clarry Penrose finds the good in everyone. Even in her father, who isn’t fond of children, and especially girls. He doesn’t worry about her education, because he knows she won’t need it. It’s the early twentieth century, and the only thing girls are expected to do is behave. But Clarry longs for a life of her own. She wants to dive off cliffs and go swimming with her brother Peter and cousin Rupert. And more than anything, she wants an education. She helps Peter with his homework all the time, so why can’t she manage it by herself? When war breaks out, Clarry is shocked to find that Rupert has enlisted. Then he is declared missing, and Clarry is devastated. Now she must take a momentous step into the wide world—for if she misses this chance, she may never make it. This is an inspirational, funny, and heartwarming story about a girl who dares to open doors that the world would rather keep closed.

Hilary McKay's Fairy Tales is a classic fairy-tale collection to treasure. Featuring Hilary McKay's imaginative retellings of key favourites, this ten-story collection includes the much-loved tales of Rapunzel, Cinderella, The Princess and the Pea, Rumpelstiltskin, The Pied Piper of Hamelin, The Swan Brothers, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Red Riding Hood, The Twelve Dancing Princesses and Hansel and Gretel. This gorgeous collection features black-and-white line and tone illustrations throughout from the talented Sarah Gibb.

In this hilarious companion to "Saffy's Angel," Indigo Casson returns to school after missing a semester due to mono, but he dreads dealing with the school bullies again. Soon Indigo meets Tom, an American who becomes his ally.

I asked myself lots of questions, like what did Hansel and Gretel say to their father when they finally made it home? What I Did in the Holidays . . . is an imaginative retelling of the classic fairy tale Hansel and Gretel. Originally featured in Hilary McKay's Fairy Tales, this short story is sure to capture the imagination! From the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize-winning storyteller Hilary McKay and featuring black-and-white line and tone illustrations from the talented Sarah Gibb.

“Ten old yarns cleverly ‘re-spun.’” —The Wall Street Journal “Abundantly magical.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) Award-winning author Hilary McKay reimagines classic fairy tales with humorous and heartfelt twists in this illustrated collection of short stories that Booklist calls “a real delight.” Imagine Hansel and Gretel’s story from their teacher’s point of view, when Gretel submits her report of, “What I Did in the Holidays, and Why Hansel’s Jacket Is So Tight.” Learn the story of how Rumpelstiltskin was used by a greedy girl who wanted to marry a prince in “Straw into Gold.” Find out what was really underneath all those mattresses the unlucky princess had to sleep on—and who the prince was really in love with—in “The Prince and the Problem.” Award-winning author Hilary McKay brings a modern sensibility and inventive quirkiness to this beautiful collection of ten classic fairy tales, reimagining them with emotional depth and lighthearted humor. Each story is also accompanied by delicate black and white illustrations. This sure-to-be treasured collection includes: Rapunzel Cinderella The Princess and the Pea Rumpelstiltskin The Pied Piper The Swan Brothers Snow White Red Riding Hood The Twelve Dancing Princesses Hansel and Gretel

The four Conroy sisters' efforts to raise money in order to sponsor a ten-year-old boy in Africa get them into one difficult situation after another.

An enchanting sequel to Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess, written by the award-winning Hilary McKay.

Here is lovely Rapunzel, free from her tower, although perhaps not so free from her fears . . . The Tower and the Bird is an imaginative retelling of the classic fairy tale Rapunzel. Originally featured in Hilary McKay's Fairy Tales, this short story is sure to capture the imagination! From the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize-winning storyteller Hilary McKay and featuring black-and-white line and tone illustrations from the talented Sarah Gibb.

A Simon & Schuster eBook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader.

Prequel to The Amber Cat.

After learning that she was adopted, thirteen-year-old Saffron's relationship with her eccentric, artistic family changes, until they help her go back to Italy where she was born to find a special momento of her past.

I asked myself lots of questions, like how could Snow White have left those seven kind dwarves? Perhaps she never quite did. Chickenpox and Crystal is an imaginative retelling of the classic fairy tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Originally featured in Hilary McKay's Fairy Tales, this short story is sure to capture the imagination! From the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize-winning storyteller Hilary McKay and featuring black-and-white line and tone illustrations from the talented Sarah Gibb.

“A triumph.” —Philip Pullman, bestselling author of the His Dark Materials saga Four young lives are forever changed at the dawn of World War II in this “stirring and unforgettable” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) novel from award-winning author Hilary McKay. In England, Ruby has no friends because of the speckled blotches on her face that kids say look like dirt. And Kate is sickly all the time, her older siblings each taking turns looking after her. Ruby and Kate’s first meeting is nearly disastrous, but the two lonely girls soon strike up a friendship. Their connection becomes all the more important when England joins the war against Germany and the blitz begins overhead. In Germany, Erik and Hans are best friends filled with plans for their future: Erik taking over their beloved local zoo, and Hans serving pastries right outside the gates. They never expected to be forced to join the national service, training as pilots and tasked with hurting people. And in London a mistreated dog roams the streets looking for handouts, and for a friend. All of these lives will cross in the most surprising ways in this heartrending tale of war and compassion, and hope that can be found in even the most unexpected friendships, brought to life by award-winning author Hilary McKay.

Often, I found things were not quite as they first seemed. Not all princesses are content to marry the prince, no matter how charming, or how carefully the queen arranges the peas. The Prince and the Problem is an imaginative retelling of the classic fairy tale The Princess and the Pea. Originally featured in Hilary McKay's Fairy Tales, this short story is sure to capture the imagination! From the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize-winning storyteller Hilary McKay and featuring black-and-white line and tone illustrations from the talented Sarah Gibb.

Danny, Anna and Nathan live in the flats of Paradise House, but they are far from angelic and get up to all sorts of mischief. Nathan moves into the cupboard under the stairs to escape his sister's wailing, but he doesn't expect to find a clue to buried treasure. What will he unearth in the garden?

While trying to reconnect with her friend Tom, who has returned to the United States without leaving a forwarding address, eight-year-old Rose inadvertently discovers the identity of her adopted sister Saffy's father.

The Conroy sisters are back! In Hilary Mckay's second book in The Exiles series, The Exiles at Home, the four delightfully troublesome siblings manage to get themselves into yet more mischief.When Ruth Conroy decides to sponsor a child in Africa, she is unprepared for the monthly monetary commitment and is shocked by how difficult it is to find £10 a month . . . In desperation, she enlists the help of her sisters - but Phoebe, Naomi and Rachel are only too eager to think up eccentric fundraising schemes, including wholly undisciplined and unsuitable baby-sitters, an unhygienic catering service and a fraudulent street artist. Whatever the scheme, their hilarious projects never fail to cause chaos and mayhem.

From the winner of the Costa Children's Book Award 2018. It's tough being the youngest in the Casson family! It is nearly the end of Year 6, and Rose is preparing for Big School. With absent siblings, a perpetually-in-the-shed mother and finally-here-again-father, Rose's Blog reveals what happens to the Cassons - and Tom, of course. Hilary McKay's Casson family was first brought to life in the Whitbread Award-winning Saffy's Angel. Fierce as a small tiger, Permanent Rose has her own way of seeing the world. After Forever Rose (the last of the books following the Casson family), the eponymous Rose continued to grow up. Hilary posted entries from a blog Rose was keeping on her website, chronicling the further adventures of the Cassons. They are available here as one collection for the first time.