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Strawgirl
`How do you know my name?` Maybe asked Strawgirl. She was thrilled out of her tiny mind. The pleasure she felt was so intense, the roof of her head could have flown open and three beautiful birds soared out. Molly `Maybe` MacPherson has always felt that she doesn`t quite fit in. Her dad is from Nigeria, which makes Maybe different to everyone else in her Scottish farming community. If only she could forget about her embarassing roots. If only she could stop getting bullied. Then Maybe`s father is killed in a car accident. Struggling with grief and loneliness, she must fight to keep the farm she loves. But a strange magic is at work, and when Maybe most needs a friend, her wish comes true in a way she could never imagined... `An out of the ordinary tale of enchantment` Daily Telegraph
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First published January 1, 2002
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About the author
Jackie Kay
106 books435 followersBorn in Glasgow in 1961 to a Scottish mother and a Nigerian father, Kay was adopted by a white couple, Helen and John Kay, as a baby. Brought up in Bishopbriggs, a Glasgow suburb, she has an older adopted brother, Maxwell as well as siblings by her adoptive parents.
Kay's adoptive father worked full-time for the Communist Party and stood for election as a Member of Parliament, and her adoptive mother was the secretary of the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).
Initially harbouring ambitions to be an actress, she decided to concentrate on writing after encouragement by Alasdair Gray. She studied English at the University of Stirling and her first book of poetry, the partially autobiographical The Adoption Papers, was published in 1991, and won the Saltire Society Scottish First Book Award. Her other awards include the 1994 Somerset Maugham Award for Other Lovers, and the Guardian Fiction Prize for Trumpet, based on the life of American jazz musician Billy Tipton, born Dorothy Tipton, who lived as a man for the last fifty years of her life.
Kay writes extensively stage, screen, and for children. In 2010 she published Red Dust Road, an account of her search for her birth parents, a white Scottish woman, and a Nigerian man. Her birth parents met when her father was a student at Aberdeen University and her mother was a nurse. Her drama The Lamplighter is an exploration of the Atlantic slave trade. It was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in March 2007 and published in poem form in 2008.
Jackie Kay became a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on 17 June 2006. She is currently Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University. Kay lives in Manchester.
Jackie Kay was born and brought up in Scotland. THE ADOPTION PAPERS (Bloodaxe, 1991) won the Forward Prize, a Saltire prize and a Scottish Arts Council Prize. DARLING was a poetry book society choice. FIERE, her most recent collection of poems was shortlisted for the COSTA award. Her novel TRUMPET won the Guardian Fiction Award and was shortlisted for the IMPAC award. RED DUST ROAD, (Picador) won the Scottish Book of the Year Award, was shortlisted for the JR ACKERLEY prize and the LONDON BOOK AWARD. She was awarded an MBE in 2006, and made a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2002. Her book of stories WISH I WAS HERE won the Decibel British Book Award.
She also writes for children and her book RED CHERRY RED (Bloomsbury) won the CLYPE award. She has written extensively for stage and television. Her play MANCHESTER LINES produced by Manchester Library Theatre was on this year in Manchester. Her new book of short stories REALITY, REALITY was recently published by Picador. She is Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University.
Kay's adoptive father worked full-time for the Communist Party and stood for election as a Member of Parliament, and her adoptive mother was the secretary of the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).
Initially harbouring ambitions to be an actress, she decided to concentrate on writing after encouragement by Alasdair Gray. She studied English at the University of Stirling and her first book of poetry, the partially autobiographical The Adoption Papers, was published in 1991, and won the Saltire Society Scottish First Book Award. Her other awards include the 1994 Somerset Maugham Award for Other Lovers, and the Guardian Fiction Prize for Trumpet, based on the life of American jazz musician Billy Tipton, born Dorothy Tipton, who lived as a man for the last fifty years of her life.
Kay writes extensively stage, screen, and for children. In 2010 she published Red Dust Road, an account of her search for her birth parents, a white Scottish woman, and a Nigerian man. Her birth parents met when her father was a student at Aberdeen University and her mother was a nurse. Her drama The Lamplighter is an exploration of the Atlantic slave trade. It was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in March 2007 and published in poem form in 2008.
Jackie Kay became a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on 17 June 2006. She is currently Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University. Kay lives in Manchester.
Jackie Kay was born and brought up in Scotland. THE ADOPTION PAPERS (Bloodaxe, 1991) won the Forward Prize, a Saltire prize and a Scottish Arts Council Prize. DARLING was a poetry book society choice. FIERE, her most recent collection of poems was shortlisted for the COSTA award. Her novel TRUMPET won the Guardian Fiction Award and was shortlisted for the IMPAC award. RED DUST ROAD, (Picador) won the Scottish Book of the Year Award, was shortlisted for the JR ACKERLEY prize and the LONDON BOOK AWARD. She was awarded an MBE in 2006, and made a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2002. Her book of stories WISH I WAS HERE won the Decibel British Book Award.
She also writes for children and her book RED CHERRY RED (Bloomsbury) won the CLYPE award. She has written extensively for stage and television. Her play MANCHESTER LINES produced by Manchester Library Theatre was on this year in Manchester. Her new book of short stories REALITY, REALITY was recently published by Picador. She is Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 9, 2016
4.5 Stars
Molly 'Maybe' MacPhearson loves her life on her farm with her family and her cows, all who have names. But Maybe is starting to grow up and realising that with a Nigerian father and Irish mother, she's a bit different to the others around her in her Scottish village. As Maybe is trying to accept her family and differences, tragedy strikes and Maybe's father dies. As she tries to keep everything together, Strawgirl magically comes into Maybe's life and might just help her save the farm.
This was just the cutest book! I loved Maybe and how she thought. I loved her mind, her personality, her vivaciousness and just everything about her. The writing quality was beautiful with some really gorgeous descriptions. This is a middle-grade book so the villains in this book are very villainous but also to an almost comical extent and this made it very enjoyable. Maybe's friendship with Strawgirl reminded me a little bit of Pete and Elliot from Pete's Dragon (which I LOVED as a kid). I really loved the fact that there was a short chapter from Madam Bovary the cow in amidst all the drama and the fact that every single cow had a name as well.
The ending was great and I loved how Maybe came to love and accept her differences and where she came from on her father's side. She was Scottish but also Ibo and that was okay. I loved it - it made me tear up a little bit!
Definitely recommend this one.
Molly 'Maybe' MacPhearson loves her life on her farm with her family and her cows, all who have names. But Maybe is starting to grow up and realising that with a Nigerian father and Irish mother, she's a bit different to the others around her in her Scottish village. As Maybe is trying to accept her family and differences, tragedy strikes and Maybe's father dies. As she tries to keep everything together, Strawgirl magically comes into Maybe's life and might just help her save the farm.
This was just the cutest book! I loved Maybe and how she thought. I loved her mind, her personality, her vivaciousness and just everything about her. The writing quality was beautiful with some really gorgeous descriptions. This is a middle-grade book so the villains in this book are very villainous but also to an almost comical extent and this made it very enjoyable. Maybe's friendship with Strawgirl reminded me a little bit of Pete and Elliot from Pete's Dragon (which I LOVED as a kid). I really loved the fact that there was a short chapter from Madam Bovary the cow in amidst all the drama and the fact that every single cow had a name as well.
The ending was great and I loved how Maybe came to love and accept her differences and where she came from on her father's side. She was Scottish but also Ibo and that was okay. I loved it - it made me tear up a little bit!
Definitely recommend this one.
May 24, 2016
Overall, this was a very warm, adventurous, feel-good kind of story - I would have loved it as a kid and still enjoyed it now. There were lots of things I really liked about it: the authentic descriptions of farm life (I adored the cows and how much time and personality they were given!), the POC/Scots main character and all the issues that came with that, the realistic portrayal of grief, friendships, family, bullies old and young, and the importance of being yourself and standing up for what you love.
Kay's writing is lovely, with some beautiful, memorable poetic passages. (Trees! Cows! Did I mention the cows? Cows named after literary characters! I loved the cows!) It did come across as fairly obvious that this is not an author used to writing children's fiction, since the story seemed to struggle with how young it was or wanted to be throughout the first half - it started out as pretty much on a level with the 11-YO main character (who is spunky and fun but also realistically infuriating at times!), then suddenly seemed to drop to a much younger level while constantly having "older" sections strewn throughout (most of the bits that focused on the adult characters dealt with more complex emotions and situations than I'd expect in a children's book), although it seemed to find its footing in the second half. Unusually for me, I actually struggled with the fantastical elements of the story (); I actually found the reality-based parts more compelling.
Even with the nitpicks, I was definitely drawn in by Jackie Kay's writing, as I was by her short stories. Definitely time to pick up Trumpet next!
Kay's writing is lovely, with some beautiful, memorable poetic passages. (Trees! Cows! Did I mention the cows? Cows named after literary characters! I loved the cows!) It did come across as fairly obvious that this is not an author used to writing children's fiction, since the story seemed to struggle with how young it was or wanted to be throughout the first half - it started out as pretty much on a level with the 11-YO main character (who is spunky and fun but also realistically infuriating at times!), then suddenly seemed to drop to a much younger level while constantly having "older" sections strewn throughout (most of the bits that focused on the adult characters dealt with more complex emotions and situations than I'd expect in a children's book), although it seemed to find its footing in the second half. Unusually for me, I actually struggled with the fantastical elements of the story (); I actually found the reality-based parts more compelling.
Even with the nitpicks, I was definitely drawn in by Jackie Kay's writing, as I was by her short stories. Definitely time to pick up Trumpet next!
October 6, 2016
Magical, but not too fantastical.
Dealt with a lot of issues in a very readable, accessible way.
Dealt with a lot of issues in a very readable, accessible way.
May 24, 2013
This is quite a mixture of realistic fiction and fantasy. The product of a biracial marriage, 'Maybe', must wrestle with being bullied, the death of her father, and the possible loss of where she lives. For anyone who ever has an 'imaginary friend' or has a child who has/had one, this is a story to touch your heart strings.
March 8, 2012
This is a beautiful and well-written book. I was spellbound at the very beginning! The original plot is not really desirable but but the writer has done a really good job to make it out of the ordinary by adding bits of magic, sadness and humour in. It deserves a better rating.
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August 12, 2011Good, well written. Has a slightly odd tone, which I think is not being certain whether it's for children or adults. But out of the ordinary, for sure.
February 19, 2016
I was spellbound throughout the whole book! Very beautiful!
December 13, 2014
This was a beautiful and inventive story about how different people cope with grief. The characters were relateable, the villains realistic and the story and setting were very charming.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews