A Bag of Moonshine

by Alan Garner

Overview

From the author of the Booker Prize-shortlisted Treacle Walker and the Carnegie Medal and Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize-winning classic, The Owl Service

Stunning new CollinsVoyager edition of Alan Garner’s collection of folklore.

Boggarts and gowks, fools and hobgoblins are only some of the strange and wonderful creatures in A Bag of Moonshine – a veritable treasure trove of stories chosen from the folklore of England and Wales.
There are 22 tales in all, beautifully illustrated in black and whitel by prize-winning illustrator Patrick Lynch.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780007127900
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	02/04/2002
Edition description:	New edition
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Alan Garner was born in Cheshire, where he still lives today. His first book, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, was published in 1960. He was awarded the OBE for services to children’s literature in the 2001 New Year Honours list

Editorial Reviews

Noted author and folklorist Garner has compiled a collection of little-known (in America) tales from England and Wales. Garner's ear for language, and his ability to turn simple folktales into the works of oral beauty that they once were, is exceptional. The tales themselves are alternately crafty, like the somewhat familiar story of Harry-Cap, or poignant, like the story of Hewin and his bride Belenay of the lake. Lynch's illustrations are perfectly suited to each tale and abound in sly-faced youths and crafty trolls. A good read-aloud for younger children, but older children may find the unfamiliar terms and pronunciations hard going. (All ages)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 1 Up Taking its title from a nonsense rhyme included, this is a wonderful collection of 20 tales and 2 rhymes from England and Wales. Most are unfamiliar, although almost all contain variants of recognizable elements of European folktales. They are zestfully told, and their magic is not dark. Compare Joseph Jacob's ``Jack Hannerford'' with Garner's spirited ``up galloped the farmer, all of a dither-a-wack, like a new-baked custard.'' He gives these tales the pepper of folktelling without letting them become arty or obscure. Readers will enjoy the lilt of the phrasing and can intuit meaning of unfamiliar words. A peevish changeling hides all but his eyes, which ``keeked out like a ferret's''; the magic stick to beat a thief ``wriggled like a snig in a bottle''; and the ``Wicked Sparrow'' starts on his mad career with ``a thorn in my foot. . .and it's giving me gyp!'' Numerous sketches and eight color illustrations convey the same combination of the zany and the supernatural. No sources are included. These selections will be appreciated by independent readers; they will also make fine read-alouds for younger listeners. Ruth M. McConnell, San Antonio Public Library

School Library Journal