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Greener Grass: The Famine Years

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Greener Grass: The Famine Years
AuthorCaroline Pignat
LanguageEnglish
PublisherRed Deer Press
Publication date
2009
Publication placeCanada
Media typePrint (Trade Paperback)
Pages278 pp (first edition)
ISBN978-0-88995-402-1

Greener Grass, published in 2009, is the second novel of Canadian author Caroline Pignat. The story revolves around a 14-year-old girl, Kit Byrne, living during the Great Famine of 1847 in Ireland. The Byrne family faces imminent eviction when their landlord, Lord Fraser, wants to repossess their land. He attempts to drive them out by raising the rent and having his estate manager, Lynch, set fires in the surrounding area. Kit works as a kitchen maid in the main house, but when she loses her job her mother is forced to sell precious family heirlooms and furniture. 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.

Awards and nominations

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Award Year Result
Governor General's Award for English-language children's literature 2009 Won[1]
CLA Children's Book of the Year Award 2009 Shortlist[2]
Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction 2009 Finalist[3]
Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Awards 2010 Shortlist[4]
Red Maple Award 2010 Nominated[5]

References

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  1. ^ "Winners of the 2009 Governor General's Literary Awards Announced". Retrieved 16 December 2009.[dead link]
  2. ^ "Canadian Library Association | CLA: News (03/06/2009)". Cla.ca. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  3. ^ "Finalists Announced for 2009 Canadian Children's Book Centre Awards | Canadian Children's Book Centre". Bookcentre.ca. Archived from the original on 6 July 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  4. ^ "Myrca Nominees". Myrca.ca. 16 September 2011. Archived from the original on 25 November 2009. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  5. ^ "Forest of Reading® 2010 - Red Maple™". Accessola.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2013.