Product Description

Everyone in Kizzy's town hates her because she's half-gypsy – a diddakoi. But Kizzy doesn't care. All she needs is Gran and her horse, Joe. But when Gran dies and their wagon burns down, Kizzy is all alone. No one wants to look after her and her beloved Joe might get sent to the knacker's yard. Can Kizzy survive in a hostile world – and save Joe?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32719 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

About the Author

Rumer Godden, who died in 1998, was one of the UK’s most distinguished authors. She wrote many well-known and much-loved books for both adults and children, including THE GREENGAGE SUMMER, THE PEACOCK SPRING and BLACK NARCISSUS. In 1993 she was awarded the OBE.

Customer Reviews

A deft and incisive study of alienation and acceptance
I first read this (at least 5 times!) as a child and was stunned by the remarkably frank and at times painful way a child who is perceived as "different" is treated by society as a whole. Adults are supposed to "know better" but here they are portrayed as average, flawed human beings. A triumph of a book which should be requisite reading for all adults and children; the studies of a (sadly) lost way of life are also a delight.

Nostalgic, charming but with a gutsy and believable heroine
This is a frank account of a child who is wary of and is disliked by other children because of her gypsy background. But her gutsiness and loneliness will touch you! I read this years ago as a little girl and loved it, and thoroughly enjoyed Lynda Bellingham's excellent reading. It is nostalgic, charming and perhaps old fashioned but it kept both my daughters ( 9 and 6) really entertained and wanting more on a long drive to Cornwall. Excellent.

A many layered gem
This is a lovely little book which contains many more layers more than the rather bland synopsis describes. It is a book for both children and adults which explores issues of racism, child abuse, traditional differences and suspicions with empathy and realism. Any child who has been bullied will be familiar with what Kizzy suffers at school, and will be heartened to find there are solutions offered in this tale. Kindness by strangers to a lonely but spirited little girl wins through against well-meaning but insensitive and sometimes cruel intentions, and it has a happy and realistic ending. I was given the book aged about 10 and have always loved it, I wholeheartedly recommend it.