The Battle for Gullywith
by Susan Hill
Olly feels miserable moving to Gullywith, a dilapidated farmhouse, out in the wilds, 300 miles from his former home in London. But when he discovers that angry and powerful stones are trying to drive his family out of Gullywith he is determined to fight back. Olly, his parents and his baby sister, Lula, are likeable, down-to-earth characters.
Olly's new friend, KK, who appears with her dog, Jinx, soon after their arrival, introduces him to Nonny Dreever, magic and mystery: stones move; books appear and disappear; bats and tortoises are ingenious helpers; and 'time does not add up properly.' The adventures are sometimes festive, sometimes perilous - all colourfully described. The story is so competently told and moves, in short chapters, so swiftly from one excitement to the next that readers haven't breath to question the magic. Things just happen.