There are faces in the hedge at the end of the garden, and a nest of tiny fantails, and that’s where 9-year-old Annie goes to play one hot summer while her father works up at the lighthouse. It’s there that she discovers hedges that walk and a Tigrish.
I’m liking
Dappled Annie and the Tigrish is one of the loveliest books I’ve read in a long time. McCallum has such a way with words and this book is both gentle and engaging. The language and descriptions are complex and rich and although it’s a slim book, there’s lots in it.
In essence, this is a simple adventure story. Annie and her brother journey to save their father with help from a Tigrish (which kept making me think of Falkor the Love Dragon in The Never Ending Story). However, I found myself completely drawn into this story.
As an added bonus, there are 4 gorgeous full-colour images from Wellington artist Annie Hayward in this book. I’ve long admired Hayward’s work and they are perfect in this book. McCallum writes that her initial inspiration was one of Hayward’s painting and they match the one of this book fabulously.
The conclusion
I can’t wait for my children to be old enough to read this book to them. The complexity of the language means that it’ll probably be a couple of years before the eldest is old enough but I’m sure she’ll love it as much as I did.
