"Shouldn't we be orphans?" one of the Willoughby children suggests one day. The four are, after all, part of an old-fashioned kind of family, and their parents - well, their parents are not all that one would hope for. Recalling literary heroes like Anne of Green Gables, Pollyanna and James with his giant peach, the Willoughbys concoct a diabolical plan to turn themselves into worthy and winsome orphans. Little do they know that Mr and Mrs Willoughby have already begun to formulate their own thoroughly despicable plan inspired by another favourite bedtime story: The tale of Hansel and Gretel...

Author Biography

Lois Lowry was born in Hawaii and grew up in New York, Pennsylvania and Japan. She has written more than thirty books for readers for all ages, including the Newbery award winning Number the Stars and The Giver. She has recieved many awards for her work, including the Boston GlobeHorn Book Award, the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award, the California Young Reader Medal, the Mark Twain Award and the Margaret A. Edwards Award for a lifetime contribution to young adult literature. Lois divides her time between Cambridge, Massachusetts, and an 1840s farmhouse in Maine.