Author and Storyteller

 

 
 

Fiction Books by Margaret J. Anderson

 

Olla-piska: Tales of David Douglas
Illustrated by Ellen Beier

       University of Washington Press
 

A historical novel based on the journal of botanist David Douglas (Douglas of the Douglas fir), who explored the Pacific Northwest early in the nineteenth century in search of plants that would grow in English gardens.

~ Winner of the Stevens Literary Prize, 2005
~ An Oregon Book Award finalist, 2007

Translated into Korean

Children of Summer:
Henri Fabre's Insects

Illustrated by Marie Le Glatin Keis
       (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1997)


Ten-year-old Paul assists his father, the famous French entomologist Jean Henri Fabre in the adventure of discovering the secrets of his "children of summer"… the insects

 

 

 

The Druid’s Gift
(Knopf, 1989)

A spellbinding adventure of dark magic and time travel spanning a thousand years of history on the remote island of Hirta off the coast of Scotland. The Druid’s Gift is a masterful excursion into fantastic and primitive worlds whose survival depends on the keeper of the “gift.”

 

The Ghost inside the Monitor
(Random House Bullseye Books, 1990)

“Seemlessly woven … with plenty of suspense, engaging characters, and a happy ending for all concerned.” Kirkus


        ~Winner of the Charlie May Simon Book Award


The Brain on Quartz Mountain

(Knopf, 1982)


At the science research center where his dad is caretaker, Dave is roped into helping a weird professor with an experiment … educating a chicken brain growing in a bottle. The job is dull until Dave realizes that the brain is smart! Then he discovers the brain has plans of its own.

 

Light in the Mountain
( Knopf Books for Young Readers, 1982)

A richly textured story of treachery, adventure, love and commitment set in New Zealand long before it was discovered by white settlers. The story charts the destinies of two young women – Rana and later, Ngaio – who, each in her own way, lead their people to a new life.



Journey of the Shadow Bairns

(Knopf, 1980)


Elspeth MacDonald and her little brother Robbie journey from Scotland to Canada with the Barr colonists. “Details of their life on shipboard, the trials and tribulations of frontier life, and the separation and final reunion of the two add suspense and tension to a well-constructed narative.” Horn Book.

 

 

For the cover of her book report, "Journey of the Shadow Bairns," Fiona, used a picture of herself and her sister Gillian dressed up as Elspeth and Robbie. On the Internet, she found a picture of Isaac Barr who led the Barr Colonists to Saskatchewan in 1903.


 

Searching for Shona
( Knopf, 1978)

Two Scottish girls switch identities against the backdrop of WW II. “The characters have depth and behave believably. Anderson’s simple, almost stark prose is most expressive." SLJ

 

 

To Nowhere and Back
(1975)

“…a fascinating carefully thought-out and credible journey through a time warp that takes an American girl visiting Englnd for a year with her family, into the daily life and times of a peasant girl who lived in the same village 100 years before. “ New York Times Book Review.

~ A NY Times Book Review Outstanding Book of the Year, 1975

In the Keep of Time (Knopf, 1977)
In the Circle of Time
Knopf, 1978)
The Mists of Time
(Knopf, 1984)

Three time slip fantasies set in Scotland that take the reader into the past and also into a greener, kinder future. In Stone Soup, Margaret Petrone, 12, says of In the Keep of Time... “Even if you don’t believe in magic this book can transform you … an unusual, delightful book. I recommend it to all ages, younger children for the suspenseful story, older people for the symbolism.”

 

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