Under the Hawthorn Tree

My favourite book as a child was Under The Hawthorn Tree by Marita Condon-McKenna. At 9 yrs old, I was drawn into the story of three children’s struggle to survive during the Irish Famine. Now I’m reading it with my daughter & the journey continues

-- Cecelia Ahern

beloved the world over

-- The Herald

vividly brings history to life for its readers … a hugely involving tale

-- Mad About Books

her books never shy away from difficult issues, gripping you from the very opening chapter

-- The Looking Glass

The Children of the Famine trilogy … continues to not only educate Irish children about their history, but enable people to truly connect with what happened

-- The Looking Glass

A great survival saga

-- The Irish Independent

makes a whole part of our history come alive, while it still remains a thrilling adventure tale.

-- RTE Guide

A sublime story ... I don't know any child who will not find this book enthralling.

-- The Irish Times

... beautiful and moving ... historically true and fictionally vivid.

-- The Sunday Times

The Great Irish Famine of the 1840s has received more fictional treatment than almost any other period in Irish historical children's books. Writing about the Famine posed new challenges to writers for children. The traditional passivity linked to ideas about famine would need to be overcome by some kind of action. The intense and horrible suffering and disease would need to be confronted truthfully but without lurid sensationalism. Some sense of an ending would need to be provided. In Under the Hawthorn Tree, Marita Conlon-McKenna confronted these problems with honesty and simplicity: the plight of three children becomes a kind of pilgrimage. The search for survival is not merely that, but also a search to sustain family loyalty and preserve memory.

-- The Big Guide to Irish Children's Books

Brings the story of the Irish Famine thrillingly alive.

-- The Irish Post

makes a whole part of our history come alive, while it still remains a thrilling adventure tale.

-- RTE Guide * RTE Guide *

the powerful story of the survival of three children, alone, and against the odds.

-- Publishing News

Marita Conlon-Mckenna handles this appalling event in Irish history sensitively but never compromising the truth of hardship and human suffering.

-- Jane Murphy - writeaway.org.uk

(A) vivid picture of the Famine era ... fascinating and terrifying

-- Evening Echo

An Irish classic … much loved …. the classic famine story by one of our best loved children’s authors Sarah Webb

* Newstalk’s Pat Kenny Show *

I love giving books as gifts. I have given a lot of young children Marita Conlon-McKenna’s Under the Hawthorn Tree. It’s a classic and I think one all kids should read

* Sinead Moriarty, Sunday Independent *

12 must-read children’s books by Irish authors that have stood test of time ... Author Leona Forde adores this classic that has been beloved of generations of young readers … “The story was so moving and vivid, it sparked both my love of reading and history"

-- Irish Independent

when I was a kid in Belfast one of the most transformative books I read was Under the Hawthorn Tree

-- Singer Katie Melua in the Belfast Teleg