 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2011) |
 | |
| Author | Eloise McGraw |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Margaret K. McElderry Books |
Publication date | 1996 |
| Pages | 241 |
| ISBN | 978-0-689-80654-4 |
The Moorchild is a 1996 children's novel by Eloise McGraw that centers on the life of a changeling girl. The novel draws heavily on Irish and European folklore about changelings, leprechauns, and fairies. [1]
Moql/Saaski: the protagonist, half-folk, an elfin creature, and half-human. Raised as a young elfish creature, one of the "moorfolk," she is exchanged against her will with a human child when she doesn't fit in with the other moorfolk children. She is described as "eldritch" and "freaky-odd" by the people of the village. She is not interested in the other children of the village, whom she describes as dull and primitive. Saaski has a different appearance from other villagers; she has brownish skin and pale, wild hair, and slanted, color-changing eyes.
Anwara: Saaski's adopted mother, a harassed young woman living in a small village by the moor. She often displays a kindly attitude towards Saaski, but is disheartened as the story progresses.
Yanno: the village blacksmith and Saaski's adoptive father. A huge man with the smell of iron about him, he is bemused by his daughter's oddities. He shows a gentle streak towards her and defends her from the villagers.
Tam: a lonely orphan goatherd on the moor who befriends Saaski and escapes with her to lands unknown towards the end of the book. He lives with Bruman, the drunken shepherd. He tells Saaski of "The King's Town," which the villagers don't believe in.
Old Bess: Anwara's mother, a mysterious old woman living in a hut on the outskirts of town. She is in tune with the ethereal world of which Saaski was a part. She suspects Saaski's true identity from the start, and is at first wary of the girl, but they eventually form an alliance and friendship.
The Moorchild is dedicated "to all children who have ever felt different." [2] Saaski's alienation from the people of her small village, as well as her human parents' struggle to accept and love their unusual child, even when faced with expert opinions stating otherwise, are plotlines that showcase this theme. [3]
The book was awarded the Newbery Honor in 1997. [4] It also received an Oregon Book Award in 1997. [5]
A changeling, also historically referred to as an auf or oaf, is a human-like creature found in folklore and folk religion throughout Europe. A changeling was believed to be a fairy that had been left in place of a human stolen by the fairies.
Elaine Lobl Konigsburg was an American writer and illustrator of children's books and young adult fiction. She is one of six writers to win two Newbery Medals, the venerable American Library Association award for the year's "most distinguished contribution to American children's literature."
Eloise Jarvis McGraw was an American author of children's books and young adult novels.
Cynthia Rylant is an American author and librarian. She has written more than 100 children's books, including works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Several of her books have won awards, including her novel Missing May, which won the 1993 Newbery Medal, and A Fine White Dust, which was a 1987 Newbery Honor book. Two of her books are Caldecott Honor Books.
"The Elves and The Shoemaker" is a set of fairy tales collected by the Brothers Grimm about a poor shoemaker who receives much-needed help from three young helpful elves.
Zilpha Keatley Snyder was an American author of books for children and young adults. Three of Snyder's works were named Newbery Honor books: The Egypt Game, The Headless Cupid and The Witches of Worm. She was most famous for writing adventure stories and fantasies.
The Gammage Cup is a children's book by Carol Kendall. It was first published in 1959 in the United Kingdom as The Minnipins and in the United States as The Gammage Cup. It was later republished by Scholastic in November 1991 and by Harcourt in 2000. It tells the story of a race of little people called the Minnipins who, despite inner divisions, must unite to defend their village and the valley in which they live against an evil race of humanoid creatures called the Mushrooms or Hairless Ones. The sequel, The Whisper of Glocken, was published in 1965.
Julie of the Wolves is a children's novel by Jean Craighead George, published by Harper in 1972 with illustrations by John Schoenherr. Set on the Alaska North Slope, it features a young Inuk girl experiencing the changes forced upon her culture from outside. George wrote two sequels that were originally illustrated by Wendell Minor: Julie (1994), which starts 10 minutes after the first book ends, and Julie's Wolf Pack (1997), which is told from the viewpoint of the wolves.
Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale is a young-adult fantasy novel written by Holly Black. It was published in 2002 by Simon & Schuster, who recommended it for "ages 12 up". Sequels--Valiant (2005) and Ironside (2007)--completed a trilogy that is sometimes called [A] Modern Tale of Faerie, the subtitle of volume two.
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle is a historical novel by the American author Avi published in 1990. The book is marketed towards children at a reading level of grades 5–8. The book chronicles the evolution of the title character as she is pushed outside her naive existence and learns about life aboard a ship crossing from England to America in 1832. The novel was well received and won several awards, including being named as a Newbery Honor book in 1991.
The Midwife's Apprentice is a children's novel by Karen Cushman. It tells of how a homeless girl becomes a midwife's apprentice—and establishes a name and a place in the world, and learns to hope and overcome failure. This novel won the John Newbery Medal in 1996.
Catherine, Called Birdy is the first children's novel written by Karen Cushman. It is a historical novel in diary format, set in thirteenth century England. It was published in 1994, and won the Newbery Honor and Golden Kite Award in 1995.
A Girl Named Disaster is a 1996 novel by Nancy Farmer. The book explores the qualities needed to survive in a hostile environment, coming-of-age and the availability of spiritual guidance.
Jacqueline Woodson is an American writer of books for children and adolescents. She is best known for Miracle's Boys, and her Newbery Honor-winning titles Brown Girl Dreaming, After Tupac and D Foster, Feathers, and Show Way. After serving as the Young People's Poet Laureate from 2015 to 2017, she was named the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, by the Library of Congress, for 2018–19. She was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2020.
The Golden Goblet is a children's historical novel by Eloise Jarvis McGraw. It was first published in 1961 and received a Newbery Honor award in 1962. The novel is set in ancient Egypt around 1400 B.C., and tells the story of a young Egyptian boy named Ranofer who tries to reveal an evil crime and reshape his life.
Princess Academy is a fantasy novel exploring themes of families, relationships, and education by Shannon Hale published on June 16, 2005 by Bloomsbury. It tells the story of fourteen-year-old Miri who attends a princess academy which will determine who wins the hand of the prince. The book was named a 2006 Newbery Honor winner as well as a New York Times Bestseller. It is the first in the Princess Academy series, followed by Princess Academy: Palace of Stone and Princess Academy: The Forgotten Sisters.
Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison is a children's biographical novel written and illustrated by Lois Lenski. The book was first published in 1941 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1942. Indian Captive is a historical fiction book retelling the life of Mary Jemison, with a few minor twists. The story is very similar to Mary Jemison's true life.
Poison (2003) is a young adult English-language fantasy novel written by Chris Wooding, published in 2003. It is a highly metafictional novel which follows the adventures of a young (sixteen-year-old) female protagonist named Poison as she attempts to rescue her sister from the Phaerie Realm. It contains many intertextual references particularly to mythology, fairy tales and secondary world fantasy characteristics.
The War That Saved My Life, written by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, is a 2015 children’s historical novel published by Dial Books for Young Readers. The War That Saved My Life was a Newbery Honor Book in 2016 and was Bradley’s first Newbery Honor Book.
Kelly Barnhill is an American author of children's literature, fantasy, and science fiction. Her novel The Girl Who Drank the Moon was awarded the 2017 Newbery Medal.
