Imprint
- Virago
Classic fiction (Children's / Teenage), General fiction (Children's / Teenage)
A beautifully written novel by the beloved author of Ballet Shoes. With enchanting illustrations by Edward Ardizzone.
BY THE AUTHOR OF BALLET SHOES
with beautiful illustrations by Edward Ardizzone
'A joyous, sunlight book. For me, the best Noel Streatfeild of all' HILARY MCKAY
'"You have a whole wing of the house to yourselves. The glorious world outside to play in. All that the earth brings forth to feed you, and you stand there asking foolish questions until my head reels. Help yourselves, children, help yourselves." Then, flapping her cloak as if to shoo off a clutter of chickens, Great Aunt Dymphna was gone.'
Summer will be different for the Gareth children this year. Their father, an epidemiologist, is ill abroad, and their mother must go to help him. So Alex, Penny, Naomi and Robin are sent to Ireland to stay with an eccentric distant relative.
Great Aunt Dymphna is like nobody they've ever met. She lives in a ramshackle house, quotes swathes of poetry and flits about like a great bat. And, to the children's consternation, she expects them to fend for themselves. Despite tears and many mishaps, they learn something new every day, and living with Great Aunt Dymphna becomes an adventure.
Praise for The Growing Summer
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For me, the best Noel Streatfeild of all
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Noel Streatfeild's position in the children's book world is unique. She is endlessly inventive, full of verve and real understanding of the surfaces of childhood . . . Escapism of a most satisfying sort - Times Literary Supplement
Noel Streatfeild
Noel Streatfeild (1895-1986) was born in Amberley, Sussex. Her father was Bishop of Lewes and her great-grandmother was the prison reformer, Elizabeth Fry. She was a mischievous child, often in trouble at home. While growing up, she and her sisters put on plays for parish causes and, after making munitions during World War I, she trained as an actress. Noel Streatfeild started by writing books for adults. Then in 1931 she published her first children's book. Her best-loved novel, BALLET SHOES, was published in 1936.When World War II broke out, she worked in canteens for the armed forces and for those injured by bombs. She wrote over 80 books in her lifetime and lived in London till her death.
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