Once Upon a Hillside

In ‘Once Upon a Hillside’, Angela McAllister skilfully combines seven different, yet linked, stories following the changing landscape of a hillside over the course of six thousand years. It celebrates the healing power of nature, the beauty and joy to be found in the outdoors and how it connects us to the past.

There is so much to love about this story. Angela draws on folklore, her fondness for archaeology and nature’s wonders to create something very special which would be an incredible choice as a key text to inspire and develop children’s own writing.

The stories are linked, not only by the landscape, but also by objects which are significant to characters being found those in the later tales. This idea of history from objects- the stories of past owners- the personal stories uncovered by archaeology- is one which fascinates children and the book could be used to develop work on the local area through significant or relevant periods of history. This island is so full of history that every village (let alone town or city) has a wealth of material to draw on. My own village has an iron age hill fort, had a Roman temple (some say you can still hear the echoes of the footsteps of Roman soldiers haunting it!), was the site of a battle between the Saxons and Danes, suffered at the hands of Royalist soldiers and was flooded in the Somerset tsunami amongst other things- plenty to capture the imagination. Angela’s beautifully constructed and sensitively written book is perfect for inspiring children to write their own stories as well as developing their own ideas about the characters in the book.

Richly illustrated, ‘Once Upon a Hillside’ would make a wonderful gift to share and enjoy again and again. Below, I have included a synopsis of each story, but I would hate to spoil this gorgeous story for anyone- so please stop here to avoid spoilers!

The book opens with the story of Tani as she ‘walks where no foot has ever stepped before…’. Set in the Neolithic era, the hillside is wild and wooded, full of creatures, and Tani is determined to uncover its secrets. Her family have different ideas, feeling she should take her place with the women. Whilst knapping, she finds a flint containing the form of a white bird with outstretched wings which her people believe indicates she is a chosen one and soon, she proves her worth…

Time passes and twins, Corio and Lucillia live on the hillside in their family’s villa. Corio longs to join the Roman army and march across the Empire and is delighted to find an old arrowhead containing the milky white shape of a bird. Lucillia finds a wounded hare which she cares for, praying to a statue of the goddess Diana to take pity on the poor creature.

The Middle Ages arrive and Ailith and her mother, Isolda, arrive on the hillside and make their home in an abandoned cottage. At one with nature, Ailith wishes ‘she could gather a cloak of sunset and wrap it about herself’. She ties a horseshoe to the low branches of an ash tree and she and her mother help those around them with remedies from nature until their well being is threatened by lies of a stranger. When Ailith helps Ellen, who has hurt herself, she is given small Roman statue which Ellen found on the hillside as a token of thanks and the truth about the lies is discovered, leaving the wildmaid free to dance with the wind.

In 1650, young Liddy arrives on the down, trying to make his way in the world. Hired as crow scarer by a farmer, he works hard at this thankless task before stopping to listen ‘to the music of the down’. He is befriended by a shepherd who carves him a wooden sheepdog. After a storm, he finds horseshoe half buried in the heartwood of a tree which leads to him finding family he never knew he had.

The Victorian era arrives and we meet Clara, who is fascinated by grandfather’s collection of finds, and joins him on a dig on the hillside where they are exploring a burial mound from around 6000 years ago. She is given brass magnifying glass by grandfather before a series of strange events lead the workmen to abandon the dig. Determined to solve the mystery, Clara investigates, hiding in a shepherd’s hut where she finds a wooden carving of a dog. Having found a solution to the dig’s problems, Clara’s grandfather gifts her a stone tool from the dig.

Three children, Peggy, Dennis and Stan, arrive on the down in the 1930s, to stay with an old lady who had been friends with their granny. Peggy finds a little brass magnifying glass and in the woods, the children find a den which they make their own. When the boy who made den turns up, conflict develops, but a game of football brings peace.

In today’s landscape, Amari often stays with her Granny Down whilst her parents are working. As Granny grows older, Mum and Dad think that she should leave the down and live with them. But a visit to the Wishing Tree, an ancient hawthorn growing on the hillside, inspires Amari to take photos of all Granny’s favourite places for scrapbook. Involving her dad in her plan helps him to remember how mush he loves the place and how important it is to spend time in nature and with those we love, leading to a change in plans.

A stunning book from an incredible author.

Once Upon a Hillside

Angela McAllister, illustrated by Chiara Fedele

Head of Zeus ISBN: 978-1801107525

You can read my review of ‘A World Full of Nature Stories’ here and my Q and A with Angela here.

Meet Angela McAllister

Author of more than 50 books, Angela McAllister is a very talented and versatile writer of work for all ages. Her series of ‘Full of’ books- collections on different themes- are very popular and it was when ‘A Year Full of Stories’ was shortlisted for the North Somerset Teachers’ Book Awards Quality Fiction Category in 2017 that I met Angela. I was delighted when she agreed to join me on the Bookshelf today.

Photo: Emily Beale Photography

1.       What three things would you like your readers to know about you and what one secret are you prepared to share?

When I was young, I didn’t have many books of my own, but I was often taken to the library. It was a great excitement to carry home a pile of adventures in my arms. Opening the cover of each book felt like opening a door into a new world and I’ve never lost that thrill of anticipation – where will a book take me, who will I meet, what will happen?    

We didn’t have computers when I grew up, or lovely notebooks to write in, but I was so keen to capture the stories in my head that I’d scribble them down on anything I could find - bus tickets, paper bags, old envelopes - and when I had nothing else, I’d take one of my parents’ books from the shelf and write on the blank pages at the end of that!

My greatest passion outside writing is archaeology. I’m fascinated by the past and get involved with local surveys and excavations. I have a precious collection of prehistoric artefacts, one of which – a flint arrowhead - appears in my new book, ‘Once Upon a Hillside’. My happy place is a muddy hole with a trowel in hand.

The secret I’ll share is that I wrote a novel called ‘The Tide Turner’, which is set beneath the ocean - but when I swim I never put my head under the water! That shows where imagination can take you.

 2. Leon and the Place Between and Winter’s Child are two of my favourite picture books. What was the inspiration for ‘Leon’?

Although I’ve written about many subjects, I’d always kept away from magic because it seemed tricky - if you have magic you can do whatever you want in a story so you have to use it with great care. Eventually, however, I couldn’t resist, but I had to find my own way of approaching it. As a writer I’m interested in the edge of things, in boundaries where you meet the limit of what you know, because that’s the place where you can look beyond and discover something new about yourself or about the world, so I started to think about the edge of magic…the boundary between reality and what lies beyond…and that gave me the idea for the Place Between.

3. Your ‘Full of’ series is incredibly popular. Are there going to be more titles in the series?

Yes, I’ve written seven so far and now I’m working on ‘A World Full of Winter Stories’. All through the hot summer I was lost in the icy realms of the Frost King with polar bears, snow maidens, winter witches and Christmas trees! It’s a privilege to share these ancient folktales, which still speak their wisdom and wit to us today. I love the fact that we’re creating a library of stories for families to enjoy and like to encourage everyone to learn one or two and tell them on.

4. Each of these collections must be a massive undertaking. How long does it take to choose the contents, research the stories and then write your own versions?

A long time! It takes several months to find 50 stories for each collection that sit well together and are a good spread geographically. I read hundreds of stories to make each selection. I have to consider the theme of the collection and the age range, ensure a variety of styles and story lengths and avoid repetition of plot or character from a previous book. The shaping of a collection has become intuitive over time. I have to consider how well a story will ‘translate’ into a re-telling and weed out actions and attitudes that aren’t acceptable today. Some of the old tales are very brutal! The ‘spooky’ collection was particularly challenging on this account - I needed to offer that frisson of fear without terrifying the reader! There are choices to make about vocabulary too as I’m aware that some families read these stories with children of mixed ages together - I try to keep vocabulary simple even when the subject of a particular story is complex so that everyone can grasp the sense of it. The books are sold all over the world and it’s important to include a good balance of cultures. Fortunately, I have an extensive library of folk tales to draw on.

5.       Your books have been illustrated by some amazing artists- Grahame Baker-Smith, Christopher Corr, Nathan Reed to name a few. Is there anyone who you would love to illustrated one of your books?

Yes - the masterful Lisbeth Zwerger, who has illustrated many classics. Her draughtsmanship is sublime and her unique vision is always striking. I can’t imagine it would ever be possible but I would love to write for her. It was also a great delight to have ‘The Ice Palace’ illustrated by Angela Barrett and it would be wonderful to work with her again.

6.       What are you working on at the moment?

I’ve just finished a collection of my own stories called ‘Once Upon a Hillside’, which has been a dream to write. I lived for 30 years on the chalk downland of Cranborne Chase, with a fabulous nature reserve for a back garden. One day, before the pandemic, an editor who has been a friend for many years, came to visit and walk with me there and we talked about the stories of that landscape, the skylarks, the wildflowers, ancient barrows and ditches and the evidence of the past beneath our feet. Something of that walk and that place must have stayed with her because a few months later she rang and asked if I’d like to write about it. I must say she opened a door to my heart – it was the most marvellous commission and I was thrilled that she’d been moved by the magic of that place. It also seemed a timely book to write, due to the restrictions of the pandemic when so many of us focused on our local green spaces and found hope and the healing power of nature there. There are seven stories, set in the same valley over six thousand years. The books starts with the first Neolithic people to walk across the hillside and the stories continue through time, with Roman twins who find a wounded hare, a medieval herbalist and her daughter, a seventeenth century shepherd and an orphan boy, a Victorian archaeologist and his granddaughter, three children sent away into the country in the 1930’s and a contemporary family facing a modern challenge. Objects link the stories together and the healing power of nature comes through them all – in fact nature itself is a character throughout. It’s illustrated by Chiara Fedele who has really captured the wild, windy character of the Downs. ‘Once Upon a Hillside’ will be published on 10th November.

7.       And lastly- and most importantly according to my niece- what is your favourite cake?

At the moment, it’s Persian Love Cake, made with rose petals and pistachios, which I buy from our local deli. Utterly moreish!

Many thanks to Angela for joining me today. Can’t wait to try that cake!

You can find her on Instagram @angelamcallisterbooks

You can read my review of ‘A World Full of Nature Stories’ here.