In Scotland, where muffet and Selina Russell lived, as autumn draws out mysterious airs begin.
At first, autumn is quite ordinary; there are still late summer colours of heather and the rowan berries are scarlet; the light stays gold on the hills and the bracken is copper brown. There are days of heavy rain so that the sheep, with their horns and black faces, have their fleeces washed white, and the streams at this time of year run deep and dark brown, except when the sky is blue, when they glint reflected blue. Then, as the days get shorter, and the mornings, as well as the evenings, are twilit, colours fade, leaves fall and there is the smell of bonfires; as if as an echo of their smoke, mists begin to rise from the fields and swirl about the bouldered walls that are called dykes in Scotland. One of the first signs, to Selina, of the strangeness was when, all at once, innumerable little cobwebs appeared on grass and bushes.
An absolutely endearing story with a Scottish flavor that is perfect for cozy October reading. Young Selina befriends the harsh old Mr. McFadden. Joined by her small and neglected schoolmate Tim, this trio of misfits bring love and kindness into each other's lives in a way that I'm not afraid to admit made me tear up a time or two.
Other books by Rumer Godden: The Mousewife
