Becoming Grace

Award-winning Hilary McKay brings the childhood of Victorian heroine Grace Darling to life in this heartfelt reimagining of her life up to and including the Forfarshire shipwreck. Despite her fear of boats, Grace Darling loves her life as the daughter of a lighthouse keeper and spends fun-filled childhood days with her three sisters, four brothers, numerous goats, chickens, cats and her beloved dog, Happy. The only shadows come from the many shipwrecks caused by the poor location of their lighthouse, a problem that seems to be fixed when a new one is built further out on the remote Longstone Rock. But in September 1838, a steamship called the Forfarshire is wrecked on the dangerous Harcar Rock. Grace alerts her father to survivors, but can she find the courage to help him row out through the mountainous waves to rescue them? Particularly suitable for readers aged 9+ with a reading age of 8.

"Hilary McKay has a unique gift for bringing to life whole families - whole worlds - in a matter of moments with her crystal-clear prose and her artist's eye for detail. This little book shines like sea treasure - a true story, beautifully told and glittering with life." - Lucy Strange "I stepped into Grace's world and hung on every word of her story - an enormously warm and vivid account of a real heroine, by one of our greatest writers for children." - Lissa Evans "Bringing the Victorian world of lighthouses, steamships and shipwrecks to life, award-winning Hilary McKay reimagines the real life of lighthouse keeper's daughter Grace Darling up to and including the Forfarshire shipwreck in 1838. With an accessible and often bare text at times, the layout is ideal and the illustrations really bring the dramatic story to life." - Irish Independent "When you open a fiction book you want to escape to other places, other times. Becoming Grace's coastal Victorian world holds many gems to spark interest; lighthouses, steamships, shipwrecks, rescue crews and fishing villages all tempt further reading ... This book is charming, engaging, thought-provoking and beautifully written. It is the type of quality literature that all children deserve to engage with." - Children's Books Ireland "This short, accessible read is a love-letter to female bravery ... She truly is an historical figure worthy of discussion and celebration ... Grace's character shines throughout as a concerned but proactive voice in the family ... A gentle read, full of atmosphere and action." - Books for Keeps "An epic tale of endurance and bravery ... Master storyteller McKay adds her special touch of heart and soul to this moving real-life story which has captured the imagination of both children and adults over almost two centuries ... Full of drama, rich descriptive detail and Robinson's emotive artwork, this is another winner from a dynamic writing and illustration duo." - Lancashire Post.

Reviews

Hilary McKay is one of Britain's best-loved children's authors. Her books-including Saffy's Angel, The Skylarks' War, and The Swallows' Flight -have been published in over 30 languages and have won the Costa Children's Book Award, the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, the Nestle Smarties Book Prize Gold Award, and countless other accolades.