CSD Reviews: Firefly Hollow

Firefly Hollow by Alison McGhee
Review by Carrie Kasperick, Librarian, Monmouth Public Library

Firefly Hollow is a sweet friendship story with unlikely characters--a cricket, vole, firefly, and boy—helping each other achieve their dreams. Cricket wants to play baseball; Vole wants to sail to the ocean; Firefly wants to fly to the moon; and Peter needs a friend. None can do it alone, and these characters demonstrate how kindness and support can be found in many shapes and sizes. The characters are beautifully anthropomorphized to embody the emotions and actions of people, thus making this a great choice for a 

book discussion or read-a-loud. Beware, though, that death touches the lives of some of the characters, so there are somber moments in the book.

​​Firefly Hollow has simple sentences, larger text than typical juvenile fiction, and is beautifully illustrated. Black-and-white, small pictures are complemented with intermittent full-page, colorful illustrations that bring the story to life. I looked at the magical color illustrations many times over and think young readers will be drawn to them as well.  Firefly Hollow reminded me a bit of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and Charlotte’s Web. This is a great story!