Lob

Newbery has stepped into timelessness with her short novel, ostensibly for middle-grade readers, entitled LOB (2010). It is a charming retelling of the Green Man legend, rich and playfully reinterpreted, which also has a contemporary thread * Oxford Companion to Children's Literature *
An exquisite novel for the more sensitive seven to nine-year-olds * Sunday Telegraph *
One of the most gifted writers around must surely be Linda Newbery and Lob, her latest novel for younger readers, is the kind of book that will inspire in children a deep love of nature and in adults a yearning for the wonderment of childhood * Independent on Sunday *
Linda Newbery tells her story beautifully, evoking empathy and emotion without ever straying into sentimentality * The Scotsman *
The mystical and beautiful fable is one of my favourite titles of this year * The Bookseller *
I found I was thinking about it long after I'd turned the final page, because it's wonderful . . . It's a wonderful story of trusting and believing in the unknown and keeping a legacy alive. You'll remember to look for Lob whenever you hear a rustling of leaves behind you * Guardian *
There is something intensely comforting about this book that I'm sure parents will enjoy as well as children. Especially if they are gardeners! * The Bookbag *
Newbery holds the reader with her endearing characters, evocative scene-setting and poetic language . . . An uplifting, enchanting book * Oxford Times *
There's something timeless about this lovely story, not only in its theme, which links us back to generations past, but also in the telling of it: elegant, sedate, beautifully crafted, filled with a warm kind of hope and old-fashioned charm * The Ultimate Book Guide *
Lob will sneak under the skin of cynical early teens * Observer *