Once Upon a Hillside

(Hardback)

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Description

Angela McAllister's seven original stories follow the changing landscape of lives on one hillside from the Stone Age to the present day. 'Once upon a hillside, the hedgerows were loud with sparrows and thick with blossom. Blue butterflies flitted over the anthills, lapwings danced in the big sky. And time passed...' Beginning with a Neolithic clan, who leave an arrowhead later found by a Roman boy, then a Roman mosiac found by a medieval herbalist and her daughter, relics of past lives and people are embedded there left in one story and found in the next. Following in their footsteps are a Civil War runaway, an eighteenth-century shepherd, a Victorian archaeologist and a nineteenth-century botantist all play a part in the history of the hillside, just as it has played a part in their lives. Wilderness, weather, history, archaeology and folklore infuse each tale. With gorgeous illustrations of the wildlife and surrounding landscape at different points in history, this glorious full-colour, gift book is a celebration of the enduring power of nature and lives well lived.

Reviews

PRAISE FOR ANGELA McALLISTER: 'Twelve Shakespearean stories rewritten to be accessible to children .... Presented in a richly illustrated gift edition' The Bookseller, on A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories. 'It will make an excellent teaching resource, giving teachers ideas for right through the year to celebrate cultural diversity' Parent Touch, on A Year Full of Stories. 'McAllister's versions of eight stories by Charles Dickens are both fresh and compelling' * The School Librarian, on A World Full of Dickens Stories *

Author Bio

Angela McAllister has been published consistently since 1987, writing original fiction for all ages and also published several bestselling collections of folk tales. Her work has won many awards, including The Red House Book Award and The American Folklore Society 'Aesop Award'. Angela lives in Dorset. Chiara Fedele was born in Milan and now lives in a nearby village. She took a degree in Illustration at La Scuola del Fumetto. Chiara works with Italian and international publishers. She has won a number of awards including the Premio Cento Illustrator Competion in 2008, Sydney Taylor Award Silver Medal in 2018 and 3x3 International Illustration Award Merit in 2019. chiarafedeleillustrator.it Insta: @chiaraillu