Eric Syme and his wife, Ada, are struggling to run their dilapidated farm. Then Rosie Moonshine appears, as if by magic, and the farm is transformed into a prosperous and beautiful place. But Eric and Ada are curious about who Rosie is and where she comes from, and in true fairy-tale tradition, they are unable to leave well alone ...

Reader comment

“Anthony Holcroft is a writer who has interested me since Dorothy Butler first included him in her collection The Magpies Said in 1980. Lyn Kriegler illustrated that edition, and has now created a wonderful setting for his story of Rosie Moonshine. The line and wash technique makes for an interesting mix of dream and reality, of down-to-earth farmer and gloriously red-headed fairy, in a recognizably New Zealand landscape. There’s a lovely cadence to the text, and Holcroft himself has a magic touch with words.”

Ann Packer, The Evening Post (16 December 1989)