A Stitch in Time

By Penelope Lively

Book Overview

A rediscovered children's classic, winner of the 1976 Whitbread Award, from the Booker Prize and Carnegie Medal-winning author of Moon Tiger and The Ghost of Thomas Kempe.

Maria likes to be alone with her thoughts. She talks to animals and objects, and generally prefers them to people. But whilst on holiday she begins to hear things that aren't there - a swing creaking, a dog barking - and when she sees a Victorian embroidered picture, Maria feels a strange connection with the ten-year-old, Harriet, who stitched it.

But what happened to her? As Maria becomes more lost in Harriet's world, she grows convinced that something tragic occurred...

Perfect for fans of mysteries like Tom's Midnight Garden, The Ghost of Thomas Kempe, Charlotte Sometimes, and My Friend Walter, A Stitch in Time is a classic of children's literature, from Booker Prize, Whitbread Award, and Carnegie Medal-winning author Penelope Lively.

This new HarperCollins Children's Classics edition features an introduction by Michelle Magorian, author of Goodnight, Mister Tom.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0008208441
• ISBN13: 9780008208448
• Release Date: January 2017
• Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.39 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.1" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

Amusing, wonderfully written

The story is about a girl, Maria, on a summer holiday with her parents. (I don't remember this place she went to, I read this some time ago) At this place she went to for her holiday, she met a boy who is like Maria in a way he enjoys his privacy, but he also is comfortable with his hectic life with his family. The other part of the story is that she finds out about a girl, Harriet, who lived (I'm not sure about this) about 100 years ago, who started an elaborate sampler... but never finished it. And Maria wants to find out why.I don't know, the humour was kind of that which wasn't immediately seen... the story had beautiful descriptions and interesting thoughts from Maria. Part of the story was how Maria's parents were in response to Maria's friendship with the boy (can't remember his name) and his family, and I thought this was pretty interesting. One review on the back of the book described the story as 'haunting', and in a way it is.Anyway, I think if you don't mind reading a lot, if you don't mind entering the thoughts of a young girl (11 years old)... you might like this. =)