Greener Grass: The Famine Years Volume 1

By Caroline Pignat and George Albert Brown

Book Overview

Kit Byrne's family is a strong one, but their strength and unity are being severely tested, as life becomes more and more desperate in 19th century rural Ireland. Lord Fraser is the wealthy landowner, from which the Byrne's and many other families rent their lands. When the potato blight hits, the farmers can no longer make their payments much less produce food for themselves, and the cruel system has no mercy as Lord Fraser wields an iron fist, driving families from their homes and burning their cottages.

Kit's dreams are now dashed as her family experiences a series of tragedies, and as she undergoes a daunting event that tears her away from her family. With her father dead, she must fight for survival and help her ailing mother and siblings escape Ireland for good.

This story is a glimpse into the tragic events of the Great Hunger, the famine that devastated Ireland, forcing thousands of impoverished families to seek better livelihoods outside of their homeland.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 088995402X
• ISBN13: 9780889954021
• Release Date: October 2008
• Publisher: Red Deer Press
• Length: 278 Pages
• Weight: 0.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.2" x 7.4"
• Age Range: 11 to 15 years
• Grade Range: Grades 6 to 10

Customer Reviews

Riveting reading all the way through

When there's no food on the table and people are wasting away, there's little one won't do to stop it. "Greener Grass" is a tale that takes place during the infamous Irish potato famine. Kit Byrne and family are facing possible death due to malnutrition. Willing to do anything to stop it, Kit soon finds that 'anything' includes some things that she would rather not do, and finds herself in the world of the criminal. A story of the will to survive and the love of the family, "Greener Grass" is riveting reading all the way through.