Welcome to Polly Horvath's Site
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Polly Horvath has written many books for children and young adults. She has won numerous awards including a National Book Award, Newbery Honor, Toronto Dominion Award, International White Raven, Canadian Library Association's Young Adult Book of the Year, short-listed for Germany's most prestigious literature award, the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis, the Writer's Trust Vicky Metcalfe Award for her body of work, and many others.
Her books have been New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestsellers and Rosie O'Donell and Oprah picks. She is translated into over twenty-five languages and her books are taught in children's literature curricula in North America and internationally.
Polly Horvath grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She now lives in Metchosin, British Columbia and is both an American and a Canadian citizen. She is married and has two daughters.
Her books have received international recognition. Publishers Weekly has called her work "unruly, unpredictable and utterly compelling."
Pine Island Home Wins Two Awards In Italy
Premio Orbil
A prize assigned by the independent bookshops of the Alir network. Pine Island Home won as best book of 2022 in the 11/14 years old category.
This is a prize dedicated to best writers in children's literature, Pine Island Home won as best book in the 10/13 years old category. The jury said the following: "for the compelling and moving story, which speaks of family and sacrifices, and for the resilience of the characters who teach us how important it is to collaborate."
Polly's new book—Pine Island Visitors— is a sequel to her Governor General nominated Pine Island Home:
Fiona, Marlin, Natasha and Charlie McCready have been adopted by their unlikely guardian, Al, and finally settled into their new home on Pine Island in British Columbia. Fiona is struggling under the weight of trying to keep everything together, not to mention worrying about expenses, while Marlin tries to adjust to her new high school and faces rejections for her cookbook, Thirty Meals a Twelve-Year-Old Could Make and Did!. Natasha is still keeping to herself, but a new interest in the violin reveals hidden talents, while Charlie is dreaming of what kind of dog she would like.
It's been an adjustment, but they are loving being with each other and having Al next door. Then they receive a letter from Mrs. Witherspoon, who took care of them after their parents died, and she is coming to visit for three months — an inordinate amount of time for a houseguest. Accommodating a fifth person in the tiny house is hard enough, but to their horror, Mrs. Weatherspoon arrives with a companion: her childhood friend, Jo. Jo has opinions about everything — what they should eat, how they should behave — and she doesn't hesitate to express them. And sweet Mrs. Witherspoon seems to have fallen under her spell. When she and Jo announce that they are going to extend their stay even longer, Fiona and Marlin are beside themselves. Fiona hates rocking the boat, but she is going to have to find the courage to stand up to these grown-up bullies so she and her sisters can have the life they wish to lead.