The New House Villain

by Margaret Mahy, Elizabeth Fuller (Illustrator)

After a brief acquaintance with the Villain who lives in the big tree next to her family's new house, Julia concludes that There's nothing like a Villain to keep things interesting.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction

24 pages, Library Binding

First published February 1, 1987

About the author

Margaret Mahy was a well-known New Zealand author of children's and young adult books. While the plots of many of her books have strong supernatural elements, her writing concentrates on the themes of human relationships and growing up.

Her books The Haunting and The Changeover: A Supernatural Romance both received the Carnegie Medal of the British Library Association. There have 100 children's books, 40 novels, and 20 collections of her stories published. Among her children's books, A Lion in the Meadow and The Seven Chinese Brothers and The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate are considered national classics. Her novels have been translated into German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Italian, Japanese, Catalan and Afrikaans. In addition, some stories have been translated into Russian, Chinese and Icelandic.

For her contributions to children's literature she was made a member of the Order of New Zealand. The Margaret Mahy Medal Award was established by the New Zealand Children's Book Foundation in 1991 to provide recognition of excellence in children's literature, publishing and literacy in New Zealand. In 2006 she was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Award (known as the Little Nobel Prize) in recognition of a "lasting contribution to children's literature".

Margaret Mahy died on 23 July 2012.

On 29 April 2013, New Zealand’s top honour for children’s books was renamed the New Zealand Post Margaret Mahy Book of the Year award.

For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret...

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the villain is probable meant to be taken as an imaginary frenemy, but I'd love to see it turned into a long fantasy novel like the author's fantastic "Tricksters."

[C. (Don't blank click my reviews, comment please! · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The New House Villain”, 1987, is graded with four stars for no reason attributing to uniqueness and quality. This is the briefest sort of tale that does not elaborate in-depth enough, to describe and draw more than a few pictures of this amusing and memorable tableau. I would happily ingest a full novel of this hilarious encounter and will for certain, seek others by Margaret Mahy. This adventure is illustrated with equal originality by Elizabeth Fuller. They are both New Zealanders. It is a shame Ms. Mahy died at 76. I’m glad to know this top, beloved author who won high awards.

I love the impact of Elizabeth’s drawings: emotive and informatively telling, yet spare. They resemble realistic, normal people in subtle shading and a simple house and car by a fluffy, soft tree. Contrastingly, the two principal characters strike the eye with a cartooned, fantasy air. Story-wise, I love everything about it! There is no other premise like this, nor any other child instantly equipped to deal tartly with a creature she had never met. Most of the background is simple: parents and a daughter bought a house, which they visit before moving into it. Julia observes that the house’s leafy accoutrement is occupied, whom she interprets as a “tree pirate”. Her parents think she is joking.

It’s refreshing that Julia out-and-out asks the occupant what he is and at his reply, we all accept the existence of “villains”. She hilariously criticizes his attempt to laugh maniacally and when he lists methods of intended torture, she keeps on countering with her own scary prowess. I am a great fan of concepts that are the most original ideas I have seen. I would love for this story to be much longer. I laughed and marvelled at it all at once.

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange story about a little girl who moves into a new house, and finds a villain living in the tree there. But then bands together with the villain to stop her parents from having the tree chopped down.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that the book was exciting.