Winner of the Carnegie Medal, a touching and finely crafted story about family, loyalty and belonging

Winner of the Carnegie Medal 2003 Tiller and Sairy live a quiet life in Ruby Holler; their children have long since left home and things are peaceful. But when they decide to adopt two children from the local orphanage to take on a giant adventure, they form an unlikely foursome. And Tiller and Sairy have to deal with some pretty unconventional behaviour on the part of the children, who don’t believe they could ever be ‘wanted’. A wonderful, magical story that combines quirky action and adventure with family, loyalty and learning to belong.

"Ruby Holler . . . is a skilfull, pacy and entertaining heart-warmer" - Sunday Times

"A book that shows how very satisfying unobtrusive craftmanship can be . . . and it’s fun, and it celebrates kindness and decency." - Guardian

"A magical novel . . . A book full of powerful relationships" - Books Magazine

"Ruby Holler is a book that would appeal to any child or adult over six. The age-old story of orphans gets a fresh and wonderful airing. This is a magical story which always manages to stay on the right side of whimsicality" - Irish Independent

"An Over the Rainbow sort of story . . . Dickensian in the degree of thought that has gone into the characters names" - TES Friday

"Optimistic and good-humoured … with its timeless landscapes and gleeful escapades, the book summons up the ghost of Mark Twain" - Independent