| "SAFFY'S ANGEL"
Author: Hilary McKay
Interest Level: Middle Grades (4-8)
ATOS Reading Levels: 4.5-5.4
AR Points: 5.0-8.0 each
Publisher Recommended Age: 10-14
Publisher: Simon Schuster
Book Type: Trade Paperback
Pages: 152
Book Description:
Saffron's two sisters, Cadmium and Rose, and her brother Indigo were all named from a color chart by their mother Eve, a fine-arts painter. When Saffron, known as Saffy, discovers that her name is not on the chart, it soon leads to another discovery. She has been adopted. Life in the Banana House, as their home is called, is never dull.
Caddy, the eldest, is taking driving lessons from an instructor who happens to be a very attractive young man. Indigo dreams up ways, sometimes quite dangerous, to conquer fear. Rose, the youngest, has learned how to get her own way without upsetting the other. As for Saffy, all she remembers from when she was very small is a stone angel in a garden in Italy. With the help of a newfound friend, Saffy sets out on an adventurous and sometimes hilarious search for her angel.
Book Reviews:
Publishers Weekly (Starred Review): "A memorable portrait of a vastly human family." Ages 8-12.
School Library Journal (Starred Review): "These charming characters never respond to events in ways one might expect, leading readers to anticipate the whimsical situations." Grades 4-6.
ALA Booklist (Starred Review): "A sheer delight."
Book Awards:
- UK: Whitbread Children's Book Award 2002 (Saffy's Angel)
- USA: Boston Globe-Horn Book, Honor Book in Fiction (Saffy's Angel)
- USA: ALA (American Library Assn), Notable Book (Saffy's Angel)
- USA: Junior Library Guild Selection (Saffy's Angel)
Series Overview
The series focus is on an English family of artists, the Cassons. The children are called Saffron, Rose, Cadmium and Indigo (named after colours chosen from a chart on the kitchen wall). The parents' names are Eve and Bill. The first three books are written from the point of view of the character in the title while Caddy Ever After is narrated by each of the siblings in turn.
Other characters include Tom (a friend of Indigo and Rose's who moves to America), David (a thick skinned and well meaning reformed bully) and Sarah (or "wheelchair girl", as she was known to the Cassons before she met Saffron). Cadmium is the dreamer of the family, who loves animals and has an incredible amount of guinea-pigs and hamsters. She falls in love with her driving instructor, Michael, and loves her family while studying zoology in London.
Saffy is the realist, scornful and sarcastic, but really she only wants to be loved. She leans on her best friend Sarah for support. Indigo is the only boy, music loving and sensitive and he befriends Tom and David in the books. Rose is the true artist of the family, who loves her family and art. Eve is their ditzy mother who spends her time in the shed painting. She hardly ever cooks a proper meal. Their father Bill is almost always at his swanky studio in London and is never home.
About the Author:
Hilary McKay (born Boston, Lincolnshire) is a British children's author.
Hilary McKay was born in Boston, Lincolnshire, the eldest of four daughters. She studied English, Zoology and Botany at St Andrew's University. She then became a public protection scientist. Her first novel was The Exiles, written in 1991. McKay now lives in Derbyshire.
McKay's books include the award winning Saffy's Angel, as well as other books in Indigo's Star, Permanent Rose, Caddy Ever After and Forever Rose. The books focus on an English family of artists, the Cassons. |
