Michael Morpurgo

From the Children's Laureate of England, a stunning novel of the First World War, a boy who is on its front lines, and a childhood remembered."They've gone now, and I'm alone at last. I have the whole night ahead of me, and I won't waste a single moment of it . . . I want tonight to be long, as long as my life . . ." For young Private Peaceful, looking back over his childhood while he is on night watch in the battlefields of the First World War, his memories are full of family life deep in the countryside: his mother, Charlie, Big Joe, and Molly, the love of his life. Too young to be enlisted, Thomas has followed his brother to war and now, every moment he spends thinking about his life, means another moment closer to danger.

A young boy gets his wish after the other shepherds leave him behind in this golden, heartwarming holiday tale from a leading author and illustrator. "I bring you news of great joy. For tonight, in Bethlehem, a child has been born, a savior who is Christ the Lord." When the shepherds are invited to follow the star to visit the child, one young boy is told to stay and mind the flock. But the Angel Gabriel returns for him, taking the boy on a magical, memorable flight to be the first to witness the Christmas miracle. With a gently wry narration by Michael Morpurgo and expressive illustrations by the extraordinary Quentin Blake, this inviting, uplifting story is destined to become a holiday tradition.

A powerful tale of war, redemption and a hero's journey.In 1914, Joey, a beautiful bay-red foal with a distinctive cross on his nose, is sold to the army and thrust into the midst of the war on the Western Front. With his officer, he charges toward the enemy, witnessing the horror of the battles in France. But even in the desolation of the trenches, Joey's courage touches the soldiers around him and he is able to find warmth and hope. But his heart aches for Albert, the farmer's son he left behind. Will he ever see his true master again?

Echoes of Christmas 1914 in the trenches call to the present day when a letter found by chance in an antique desk brings one soldier's experience hauntingly to life. Heart-warming and spine-tingling, this is a perfect story to curl up with on a winter's night.

A British boy and a white lion cub form a bond in turn-of-the-century South Africa, and when years later, the now grown-up boy sees the lion's image on a circus poster, he vows to find his friend again.

The only thing Billy ever wanted was to play for Chelsea. Finally his dream came true when he was picked for the team. But that was 1939, and the Second World War was about to start, changing Billy's life and everyone else's forever...

A thrilling and moving novel about an extraordinary animal caught up in a very human war, for anyone who loved The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips or The Butterfly Lion! By the award-winning former Children's Laureate and author of War Horse. Dresden, 1945. Elizabeth and Karli's mother works at the zoo, where her favourite animal is a young elephant named Marlene. Then the zoo director tells her that the dangerous animals -- including the elephants -- must be shot before the town is bombed. Unable to give Marlene up, their mother moves her into the back garden to save her! and then the bombs start to fall. Their home destroyed, the whole family must flee the bombed-out city and through the perilous, snow-covered landscape, all the while avoiding the Russian troops who are drawing ever closer. It would be hard enough to do, without an elephant in tow!

Twelve year-old George has been moving from one foster home to another for as long as he can remember. This summer he is being sent to Dyer's farm, and he is sure that he won't like it there.

Bun Bendle introduces us to his very first story, called The Sleeping Sword, written after he suddenly became blind. Nothing's been the same since Bun dived off a quay and hit his head on a rock. What he can't bear to tell anyone is that as well as his sight, the accident seems to have wiped out parts of his memory. In despair, he contemplates suicide, but the love of his great friend Anna saves him. His friends petition for him to be able to stay on his home island of Bryher in the Scilly Isles, and not be sent away to school. Calling his father in for tea one day, Bun falls through a cavity under the field. His father's tractor rumbling towards him just manages to stop, inches away. The cavity is a tomb, containing an ancient and beautiful sword and shield. Bun is immediately drawn to them, and as he holds the sword, Bedivere, a knight of the Round Table appears and commands him to take it to King Arthur. Taking Anna on his quest, Bun finds a galleon waiting at the quay to them to the king. Bun suddenly remembers their meeting before, told in Arthur, High King of Britain, and Arthur stands before them, a warrior reunited with his shield and his sword, Excalibur. Arthur reveals his purpose; Bun must drive Excalibur back into the stone until it is time for the king to come again. Bun and Anna return to Bryher on the ghost ship, hardly believing what has happened around them. The next morning Bun wakes to find his sight restored, the sword and shield safely in the cavity in the field and Anna totally unaware of the previous night's events. So Bun concludes his story, proud to have written such a long one, and Anna loves it. Bun strolls off to the field towards his father's tractor, and suddenly falls down a cavity. The tractor is rumbling towards him...and he knows everything he's dreamt is about to come true.

Best-selling author Michael Morpurgo turns his storytelling skills to the drama and tragedy of the Spanish Civil War, illustrated by Michael Foreman. TORO,TORO is the story of a young boy growing up in Andalucia, Spain, on a farm rearing bulls for the bull ring. Antonito hand rears a little black calf and they become firm friends, but the boy doesn't yet understand the fate of the black bulls – the corrida and death. Later, when he learns of the horrors of the bull fight, he frees Paco, the black bull, and rides with him into the hills.There they witness the bombing of their village (it's the year 1936, and the Spanish Civil War has started) and Antonito cannot go back – his family and the farm are destroyed, and Paco has run off, wild with fright. He decides to stay in the hills, where he meets up with the Resistance fighters. During the War, Antonito hears stories round the campfire of the wonderful black bull, who becomes a symbol of freedom for them all. Could this really be Paco? But no-one has ever seen him. After the war, when Antonito is working as a muleteer in the mountains, he falls asleep and dreams of Paco. In the morning, he wakes to see hoof prints on the ground beside him… A delightful story, full of nostalgia and drama in the author's own inimitable style. Illustrated by Michael Foreman.

When Michael is washed up on an island in the Pacific after falling from his parent's yacht, the Peggy Sue, he struggles to survive on his own. But he soon realises there is someone close by, someone who is watching over him and helping him to stay alive. Following a close-run battle between life and death after being stung by a poisonous jelly fish, the mysterious someone--Kensuke--allows Michael into his world and they become friends, teaching and learning from each other, until the day of separation becomes inevitable.Morpurgo here spins a yarn which gently captures the adventurous elements one would expect from a desert-island tale, but the real strength lies in the poignant and subtle observations of friendship, trust and, ultimately, humanity. Beautifully illustrated by Michael Foreman, Kensuke's Kingdom is a stylish, deceptively simple and magical book that will effortlessly capture the heart and imagination of anyone who reads it, ensuring that Morpurgo continues to stand tall amid the ranks of classic children's authors. (Ages 9 and over) --Susan Harrison

A gripping children’s story from War Horse author and former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo. “We all knew what was going to happen. We’d seen it before. A ship about to founder staggers before she falls. A huge wave broke over her stern and she did not come upright again.” Life on the Scilly Isles in 1907 is bleak and full of hardship. Laura’s twin brother, Billy, disappears, and then a storm devastates everything. It seems there’s little hope. But then the Zanzibar is wrecked on the island’s rocks, and everything changes . . . The Wreck of the Zanzibar is a gripping historical adventure from the author of An Eagle in the Snow, Listen to the Moon, Shadow, and An Elephant in the Garden. Michael Morpurgo has written more than one hundred books for children and won the Whitbread Award, the Smarties Award, the Circle of Gold Award, the Children’s Book Award and has been short-listed for the Carnegie Medal four times.

Bess Throckmorton meets an old man at a family reunion who tells her that Sir Walter Raleigh is one of her ancestors. Curious to see where he was imprisoned, she visits the Bloody Tower and finds that the old man was none other than Sir Walter himself! The mischievous old ghost sets about restoring the family's fortune, while all the time Bess has to try to keep the presence of a ghost in the house a secret. Sir Walter comes up with his own scheme to steal the orb from the Crown Jewels to help raise money for the farm. But the orb goes missing from hiding place and the family find they have to move out of the farm. At the last minute. Walter finds a brilliant way they can 'find' the orb and the family can finally move into the Sir Walter's old lands and to another farm they will love.

A stunning new story of hope, humanity and high-seas adventure for children and adults everywhere from Sir Michael Morpurgo, the nation’s favourite storyteller and multi-million copy bestselling author of WAR HORSE.“We were the truth of our own story.Me, and the two tiny people on my shoulder, in the middle of the sea…” War has forced Omar and his mother to leave their home in Afghanistan and venture across the sea to Europe. When their boat sinks, and Omar finds himself alone, with no hope of rescue, it seems as if his story has come to an end. But it is only just beginning. Because in the end, a little hope makes a big difference… A thrilling adventure inspired by the classic story of Gulliver’s Travels, this is also a gripping modern narrative of rescue and refuge, from a writer at the height of his powers. A book about breaking down walls, at a time when many are trying to build them. And a timeless reminder of humanity’s infinite capacity for good… even when those humans are very small indeed.

Joy and heartbreak combine in this bittersweet tale of a champion greyhound's journey through life -- and from owner to owner! "The sack wasn't just drifting gently along like everything else, it was turning of its own accord. There was definitely something inside it, struggling against the side of the plastic bag, kicking at it, squeaking and squealing in terror. He had no idea what it might be, only that it was alive and in danger of drowning." When Patrick saves a litter of greyhound puppies from the canal, he can't bear to hand them all over to the RSPCA. He pleads with his couldn't he just keep one of them? But nothing will convince them and Patrick cries himself to sleep -- only to be woken by a greyhound puppy licking his face! Patrick christens his puppy Best Mate, and that's what he becomes. Patrick's favourite thing is to watch Best Mate running at full stretch on the heath, a speeding bullet, a cheetah-dog. Until one day Best Mate is kidnapped by a greyhound trainer, and begins a new life as a champion race dog. Suzie, the greyhound trainer's step-daughter, loves Best Mate on first sight and gives him a new name, Bright Eyes. But what will happen when he can't run any more?

Il s'appelle Thomas Peaceful. On l'appelle Tommo. Il n'a que dix-sept ans mais il a déjà vécu bien des choses, des joyeuses et des plus tristes. Il a passé une jeunesse heureuse avec sa mère et ses frères à la campagne, même si la vie n'était pas toujours facile. Tout a changé lorsqu'il est parti pour la guerre avec son grand frère Charlie. Cette nuit, Tommo ne veut surtout pas dormir, il veut penser à lui, à eux, à leur vie passée. Parce que demain, au petit matin, son existence va basculer pour toujours. Il veut profiter pleinement de ces dernières heures pour se souvenir, pour ne jamais oublier que rien n'est plus beau que l'amour et la fidélité, que rien n'est plus terrible que l'injustice et la guerre¿

Lost in a dark, strange forest, his father captured and his mother murdered, young Robin is rescued by a motley crew of misfits—the Outcasts. Among them he finds Marion, his most constant friend and the love of his life. As the courageous band of warriors grows ever stronger—joined by the jovial Friar Tuck and the mighty Little John—Robin seeks to unite them all to bring relief and justice to the poor and to punish the evil Sheriff of Nottingham. In collaboration with the celebrated illustrator Michael Foreman, whose art soars from the page, Michael Morpurgo's retelling of the classic story combines contemporary relevance with dramatic excitement from beginning to end.

“There once is a Queen ever constant to her people…” From the Nation’s Favourite Storyteller Sir Michael Morpurgo comes a poetic celebration of our Queen and longest reigning monarch, beautifully illustrated in watercolour by acclaimed artist Michael Foreman. There once was a little girl, a princess, who became a queen, our Queen Elizabeth. Now, seventy years later, her reign as the longest serving female monarch in history has seen her stand steadfast through triumph and tribulation, and through the monumental changes that have shaped our world, as this remarkable queen has remained devoted to crown, to country… and a corgi or two! Beginning with the queen as a little girl, planting an oak tree with her father, There Once is a Queen follows her incredible story in a way that will bring this historic reign vividly to life for readers around the world, big and small. An exquisite gift book and commemoration of the Platinum Jubilee, it marks a unique moment in our shared history and will be a treasured keepsake for generations to come.

Set on a farm in rural Devon, Farm Boy is a collection of Grandpa's reminiscences and stories touchingly told to his grandson. Superbly told by a master storyteller and stunningly illustrated by Michael Foreman -- an exquisite book. Joey was the last working horse on the farm, and the apple of Grandpa's eye. In War Horse, published twelve years ago, Joey was sent away from the farm to be a warhorse in WWI. Grandpa had joined the cavalry in order to find, and fight, with Joey. Farm Boy brings us forward fifty years with Grandpa not only telling his grandson, Joey's story but also a 'shameful secret' which he has held for years -- Grandpa has never learned to read and write. The story is set in Iddesleigh in Devon and lovingly evokes the bonds between farm and farmer; grandson and grandfather. The spirit of rural life is superbly captured in both Michael Morpurgo's writing and Michael Foreman's illustrations. An irresistable title from acclaimed author-illustrator partnership. The title was first published in full colour by Pavilion.

One day Robbie is hit by a car while running after his dog, Lucky. Unconscious, Robbie lies in hospital, unable to speak, move or eat. But he can hear; he is aware. His friends and family try desperately to reach him – even Zola, his favourite Chelsea footballer, comes to see him. And still Robbie can’t ‘wake up’. Until one day, against hospital rules, Dad brings Lucky into the hospital. Can Lucky bring Robbie back to life?