Nory Ryan's Song by Patricia Reilly Giff

What if all you had to eat suddenly disappeared? Nory Ryan, a 12 year old girl in Ireland in 1845, discovers what it’s like to have to live on grass, birds eggs and anything her family can scrounge after a mysterious blight causes the potato crop to rot in the ground. Neighbors and relatives are leaving for America, and Nory is often on her own helping take care of her baby brother, Patch. All around her she sees people being forced off the land because they can’t pay the rent required to the English Landlords. Author Giff researched family history and the story of the Irish potato famine for this heartwarming story of determination, the will to survive, and what it sometimes takes to stay alive. Nory Ryan’s Song by Patricia Reilly Giff. Delacorte Press, 2000.