100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ

Overnight NZ-wide delivery on in-stock orders ๐Ÿš€

The Little Match Girl Strikes Back

4.03 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 677 ratings, 118 reviews)
Brief Description
It only takes one strike: A powerful feminist reworking of the Hans Christian Andersen classic, from bestselling and award-winning creators Emma Carroll and Lauren Child. 'Superb. About community and voices and standing up for yourself' Phil Earle, British Book Award-winning author of When the Sky Falls... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$1900
Elsewhere:
$2099
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

It only takes one strike: A powerful feminist reworking of theย Hans Christian Andersen classic, from bestselling and award-winning creators Emma Carroll and Lauren Child.โ€‹

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

It only takes one strike: A powerful feminist reworking of the Hans Christian Andersen classic, from bestselling and award-winning creators Emma Carroll and Lauren Child.

'Superb. About community and voices and standing up for yourself' Phil Earle, British Book Award-winning author of When the Sky Falls

Bridie works hard to feed her family, selling matches on the streets of Victorian London. After an incident leaves her with only three matches left, the magical strike of each one sees her tumble into visions of a brighter future. Realising she has the power to change her own fortune, Bridie leads the match factory workers out on strike, achieving the remarkable through their unity and courage.

A defiant and empowering retelling of the classic you thought you knew, based on real-life events, this stunning collaboration brought to life in glorious spot colour introduces a bold new heroine for future generations to treasure.

'Bridie is a feminist icon, with a story that is all too relevant. There is so much power in these beautiful pages' Katya Balen, winner of the Carnegie Medal

'A defiant, elegantly illustrated story' Sunday Times Culture

'A brilliant story of collective power that champions community and kindness' Abi Elphinstone

'A powerful strike right to the heart, burning with courage, that should light a beacon of hope for young readers' Piers Torday

'A timely read that might prompt discussion' Observer

'[Lauren] Childโ€™s vivid spot-colour illustrations elegantly complement the fierceness of the storyโ€™ Guardian

โ€˜A masterful interweaving of fairytale and fact with social action and strong women at its heartโ€™ Smriti Halls

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781398512832

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 12 September 2024

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Simon & Schuster Ltd

Illustration: b-w illustrations throughout

Contributors:

  • Illustrated by Lauren Child
  • Illustrated by Lauren Child

Audience: Children

DIMENSIONS

Width: 135.0mm

Height: 190.0mm

Weight: 300g

Pages: 208

About the Author

Emma Carroll is the multi award-winning author of many bestselling historical stories, including Secrets of a Sun King, Letters from the Lighthouse, The Week at Worldโ€™s End and A Night at the Frost Fair.ย  With a background as an English teacher, her stories are often magical, and always led by a cast of impressive female characters.ย  She lives in the Somerset hills with her husband and two talkative terriers. ย  Lauren Child is an award-winning artist and writer. She is the creator of many much-loved characters, including Clarice Bean, Charlie and Lola and Ruby Redfort, along with several stand-alone picture books.ย Her first two books were published in 1999 โ€“ย I Want a Petย andย Clarice Bean,ย Thatโ€™s Me โ€“ and she won the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal in 2000 forย I Willย Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato. She was awarded a CBE for Services to Literature in 2020; and was the 10thย Waterstonesโ€™ Childrenโ€™s Laureate from 2017-2019. ย  Lauren is a champion for the importance of illustration as an art form. She has been a trustee of the House of Illustration for ten years, and at the forefront of innovation, raising the profile of illustration as a sophisticated art form for all ages. She works with mixed media, has pioneered text as an integral part of illustration and collaborates with artists across different fields including music, film, and design. Lauren is a Foundling Museum Fellow and an UNESCO Artist for Peace and her work has always championed the importance of childhood. ย 

Also by Emma Carroll

View all
  • The Little Match Girl Strikes Back
    It only takes one strike: A powerful feminist reworking of the Hans Christian Andersen classic, from bestselling and award-winning creators Emma Carroll and Lauren Child. 'Superb. About community and voices and standing up for yourself' โ€” Phil Earle, British Book Award-winning author of When the Sky Falls Bridie works hard to feed her family, selling matches on the streets of...
    Hardback
    $2900
    Elsewhere:
    $3199
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Ghost Garden
    Queen of historical fiction Emma Carroll crafts an evocative and spine-tingling tale of childhood on the brink of war. Summer, 1914. When Fran uncovers a bone in the garden of Longbarrow House on the same afternoon that Leo breaks his leg, it is just the first in a series of strange and unsettling coincidences. Leo is left immobilised for the...
    Paperback
    $1799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Dracula & Daughters
    Packed full of atmosphere and deliciously gothic detail, the first in a brand-new adventure series: when three cousins discover they're descendants of Dracula, they combine their powers to form the infamous vampire healing company, Dracula & Daughters! Strange happenings are afoot in Temstown. Everyone is saying vampires are to blame and the townsfolk have their stakes at the ready. But...
    Paperback
    $1600
    Elsewhere:
    $1899
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Secrets of a Sun King
    It's November, 1922. In a valley in Egypt, the tomb of a long-dead pharaoh is about to be discovered. The world watches and waits for news with bated breath. Thirteen-year-old Lilian Kaye, who lives in a flat above a shop in London, is eagerly following the story. One morning, the news takes a sinister turn: a manโ€”a famous Egyptologistโ€”disappears. All...
    Paperback
    $1899
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Somerset Tsunami
    The Somerset Tsunami 'My name is Fortune and I am on trial for my life. They say I did magic that made the sea disappear, then come back again so monstrous and so fast no person could outrun the waves. The sea came so far inland, cows climbed trees to escape! But I didn't do magic. All I did was...
    Paperback
    $1899
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Houdini Inheritance
    Magic shows and mysteries abound in this showstopping new standalone from a bestselling author who has sold close to a million copies of these middle-grade adventures!ย The English seaside, 1920sA world famous escape artist...A suitcase full of secrets...And a death-defying stunt...ย When Harry Houdini comes to visit the seaside town of Sidford-on-Sea, Glory and her friend Dennis are first in-line to see...
    Paperback
    $1899
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Week at World's End
    1962, London during the Cuban Missile CrisisWhat would you do if there was a real possibility that the world might end?Ray, aware of his parents' building worry, decides to take matters into his own hands. He builds a shelter in the woods behind his house in the hope that he never has to use it. Only to discover that someone...
    Paperback
    $1899
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • When we were Warriors
    A body washed up on the beach... Evacuation to an old house with forbidden rooms and dark secrets... An animal rescue service... Set in World War Two, Emma Carroll explores the resilience, resourcefulness and inventiveness of children when their lives fall to pieces. Introducing some compelling new characters, as well as revisiting some familiar settings, these adventures are sure to...
    Paperback
    $1899
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Tale of Truthwater Lake
    On one side of the underwater street is the remains of a house... It's beautiful here, and eerie, a lost kingdom, a ghost village... It's the near-future and Britain is having yet another heatwave. Of course, the government have put in the normal curfews for this kind of weather, and shops are forced to shut again. For Polly, it's the...
    Paperback
    $1899
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Letters from the Lighthouse
    We weren't supposed to be going to the pictures that night. We weren't even meant to be outside, not in a blackout, and definitely not when German bombs had been falling on London all month like pennies from a jar. February, 1941. After months of bombing raids in London, twelve-year-old Olive Bradshaw and her little brother Cliff are evacuated to...
    Paperback
    $1899
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Frost Hollow Hall
    The gates to Frost Hollow Hall loomed before us. They were great tall things, the ironwork all twisted leaves and queer-looking flowers. And they were very definitely shut. Tilly's heart sinks. Will's at the door of their cottage, daring her to come ice-skating up at Frost Hollow Hall. No one goes near the place these days. Rumour has it that...
    Paperback
    $1899
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Strange Star
    They were coming tonight to tell ghost stories. 'A tale to freeze the blood,' was the only rule. Switzerland, 1816. On a stormy summer night, Lord Byron and his guests are gathered round the fire. Felix, their serving boy, can't wait to hear their creepy tales. Yet real life is about to take a chilling turnโ€”more chilling than any tale....
    Paperback
    Sold Out

More from Children's Books

View all
  • New Release
    Royalslinger
    K Pop Demon Hunters fans will love this! Graci Kim is back with the second book in her exciting and fantastical Slinger series where dragons and phoenixes roam the skies of Seoul; meals magically appear based on your mood; and dreams literally come to life. Praise forย Dreamslinger: โ€œA mind-blowingly original fantasy adventureโ€”Graci Kim has done it again!โ€โ€”Rick Riordan,ย New York Timesย #1...
    Paperback
    $1999
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Detective Beans and the Map of Mystery
    Enjoy this new DETECTIVE BEANS adventure in the bestselling and award-winning graphic novel series by Li Chen! Your favourite kitten detective is back with a new mystery to solve . . . and treasure to find! When Captain Scuttlebeard gives Beans a treasure map, Beans is determined to find the prize at the end. The clues take him all over...
    By Li Chen
    Paperback
    $1900
    Elsewhere:
    $2200
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Mei Mei the Bunny
    New Release
    Mei Mei the Bunny
    Mei Mei the Bunny is Laufey's picture book debut about a bunny learning to believe in herself through music. Experience a heartwarming tale of self-belief in this enchanting picture book by GRAMMY Award-winning musician Laufey. Meet Mei Mei, a little bunny with a big dreamโ€”to spread joy through her music! As her debut recital at the H'Opera House draws near,...
    By Laufey
    Hardback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Hunted: Wolf Girl 15
    Just when Wolf Girl is finally reunited with her father, he is torn away from her once more, and Gwen vows to stop at nothing to track him down. But danger is closing in: a giant snow leopard and a mysterious hooded figure are hot on their trail. As Gwen and the pack race through deep caverns to snowy peaks,...
    By Anh Do
    Paperback
    $1699
    Elsewhere:
    $1899
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    What If You Could
    From the former prime minister of New Zealand comes a guide for teens on chasing your dreams and embracing the unexpected qualities that truly make a person strong. When Jacinda Ardern became prime minister of New Zealand, she was one of the youngest people in the world leading a country. Many people thought she would never succeed โ€” herself included....
    Paperback
    $2599
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Lonasei and the Mystery of Origin Grove
    Eleven-year-old Lonasei is lonelyย โ€” she wishes her older sister Eva Grace wasn't so mean, and that her mum Aria didn't have to work so much. But when Aria inherits her childhood home, Lonasei discovers she can enter her late Aunt Malia's paintings and experience the memories within. Through them, she discovers that her mother had another sister, Agnes, who went...
    Paperback
    $2199
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    The Case of the Viral Video: Violet and the Velvets 3
    Violet and the Velvets can hardly believe they've come so far in the BandChamps competition with only hard work, a smidge of talent, and a whole lot of thinking outside the box. This time, they get to record their new song in a proper recording studio and star in their very own music video! But Violet is letting her perfectionism...
    Paperback
    $1600
    Elsewhere:
    $1899
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Dawn Raid: The Apology
    This sequel to Dawn Raid follows Sofia Saveaโ€™s family, 50 years later, as Sofia's grandson becomes involved in the quest for a government apology. INVERCARGILL, 2020 Wow, I thought I knew a bit about the dawn raids, but this is HUGE. It happened to my OWN family and I never knew! I had no idea that Granfia and her family...
    Paperback
    $1800
    Elsewhere:
    $2099
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Big Bang Bread
    New Release
    Big Bang Bread
    In this time-travel storybook and cookbook with a cosmic twist, take a journey through time and space to discover the secrets of baking! Did you know that bread is made from stardust? Board the rocket and blast off on an adventure through time and space to discover the secrets of a home-baked loaf! Big Bang Bread is a kids' time-travel...
    Paperback
    $1800
    Elsewhere:
    $2100
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • B is for Bird
    From award-winning artist, Lily Emo, comes a beautiful celebration of birds. Paired with a fun rhyming story, gorgeous illustrations, and fold-out pages, this book is set to be a favourite for everyone and the perfect gift. Make your way through the alphabet with this stunning book featuring a cast of familiar birds. From albatross to fantails, gannets to quail, and...
    Hardback
    $1999
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    (1)
    Backorder
    Ships mid August
  • Signed Copy
    New Release
    The Curse of the Carnivorous Cactuses
    (Sam: Nothing could be as bad as being covered in icky purple blobs ... wait, what does carnivorous mean again?) The gang is determined to defeat Glam-Evil and her nasty curses so that they can save their park and get back for Shackleton and Amelia's very first sleepover. But Glam-Evil has a few new tricks up her ultravillainous sleeve ......
    Paperback
    $1400
    Elsewhere:
    $1499
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Bluey: Rain
    On Sale
    17% off
    New Release
    Bluey: Rain
    It's raining! Bluey is trying to dam the water in the front yard, but does she need Mum's help? Join Bluey as she plays in the water when a heavy summer rain thunders over the Heeler home. Can Mum stop Bluey from dirtying the house? Featuring: A nearly wordless picture book with visual storytelling that mimics the dialogue-free episode. A...
    By Bluey
    Hardback
    $1500
    Elsewhere:
    $2100
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.