THE HUNKY-DORY DAIRY

by Anne Lindbergh ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 10, 1986

A beguiling fantasy about a mother and daughter who discover a displaced 19th-century community in the middle of a Washington, D.C., park. Zannah McFee, 11, goes out to buy her mother, Patty, milk and a morning paper, but the store is closed. She spots a horsedrawn van from the Hunky-Dory Dairy, climbs inside, and is driven to the dairy, where she meets a strangely dressed girl of her own age, Utopia. The two become friends, though each is puzzled. Back at home, intrigued by Zannah's story, Patty meets Peter, the van's modern-day driver, and the three drive to the dairy. They meet the group's Bible-thumping patriarch, Hector Graybeal, and Marigold Rudge and her sons, who were part of a 19th-century experimental community run by Marigold's husband, a witch, who wished the dairy away after Hector threatened to expose him. Zannah introduces Utopia to such modern icons as jeans, Coke, and bubblegum. Eventually, Zannah learns her mother plans to marry Peter, a disappointment since she hoped a Patty-Hector alliance would make Utopia her sister, but Hector and Marigold fall in love as well. The group is haunted by the wrath of Rudge until they are convinced that he has been dead for a hundred years and can no longer pose a threat. Now they can exist happily in the past but be aware of the future, with frequent visits from Zannah, Patty, and Peter, A time-travel fantasy full of warmth, wit, and charm, with a host of likable characters and zany situations.

Pub Date: April 10, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 160

Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1986

Categories: FICTION