Under the Hawthorn Tree by Marita Conlon-Mckenna is a childrens novel set during the Irish Potato Famine of the mid -1800s. Eily, Michael, and Peggy O'Driscoll are sepearated from their parents and are forced to go on a desperate journey to find distant relatives when they are forced by landowners to go to the Workhouse.
A Workhouse was a very grim place where those who could not pay their bills were often sent during the Victorian age. Eily, Michael, and Peggy are rightfully terrified of going to the Workhouse and decide to flee in the slim hope of finding two elderly Aunts that they have not seen in years.
The three children find thousands of their fellow Irish wandering the roads looking for food. The Irish potato famine began when a fungus attacked the potato crop which at that time was a staple food for most of Ireland. Most Irish were already very poor before the Potato fungus struck, but the loss of such an important crop was devastating. The cruelty of British rule also contributed greatly to the famine.
Under the Hawthorne Tree, only touches on the causes of the famine, but it is still a good read for older children. Younger children might be disturbed by descriptions of sickness and starvation.
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