Funny Irish

“What class of bobarún are you at all not to recognise the queen of Irish literature? It’s Peig Sayers that I am and 'tis ashamed you should be not to know it." That is how little Caoimhe introduces herself to the trick or treating group.The bigger girls are not too impressed by the seanchai (storyteller) costume but it turns out that Peig Sayers has quite a way with words and the trick-or-treating does not go quite as expected.

This is a thrill-ride of an adventure story, stuffed with fun, friendship and a large number of malfunctioning robot pets. Boot was once a toy robot, but it has come a long way since it was scrapped and woke back up with only two-and-a-half glitchy memories. When Boot catches sight of a robot pet it used to know - Mr Piggles - our hero and pals follow it to a beautiful green square in the city of skyscrapers. Here they find not just real nature, but also a haven for broken and rejected pets.

Maeve Higgins was a best-selling memoirist and comedian in her native Ireland when, at the grand old age of 31, she left the only home she’d ever known in search of something more. Like many women in their early 30s, she both was and was not the adult she wanted to be. At once smart, curious, and humane, Maeve in America is the story of how Maeve found herself, literally and figuratively, in New York City.