Showing results by author "Michael Morpurgo" in All Categories

It was Benjamin Postlethwaite's job all his long life to make sure the light shone brightly high up in the lighthouse on Puffin Island. Not once, in all his years as the lighthouse keeper, had he ever let his light go out. But sometimes even the brightest light on a lighthouse cannot save a ship. This is a story of a life-changing friendship, a lost puffin and a lonely artist. It's the story of an entire lifetime and how one event can change a life forever.

Tomas hates school, hates books and hates stories. Forced to visit the library, he stops to listen to magical tales that the Unicorn Lady spins. These tales draw him in and are about to change the course of his life for ever.... Set against the backdrop of war-torn Europe, I Believe in Unicorns explores the power of stories to transform lives.

When Michael is washed up on an island in the Pacific after falling from his parents’ yacht, he struggles to survive on his own. He can’t find food and he can’t find water, and as Michael and his dog curl up to sleep, he knows they cannot last long. But he soon realises there is someone close by, someone who is watching over him and helping him to stay alive.

There were dozens of us on the ship, all ages, boys and girls, and we were all up on deck for the leaving of Liverpool, gulls wheeling and crying over our heads, calling good-bye, I thought they were waving good-bye. None of us spoke. It was a grey day with drizzle in the air, the great sad cranes bowing to the ship from the docks as we steamed past. That is all I remember of England…

At the outbreak of World War 1, Joey, young Albert's beloved horse, is sold to the cavalry and shipped to France. He's soon caught up in enemy fire and fate takes him on an extraordinary odyssey, serving on both sides before finding himself alone in no man's land. But Albert cannot forget Joey and, still not old enough to enlist, he embarks on a treacherous mission to the trenches to find him and bring him home....

When James wakes to see snow falling one December morning, he is delighted and rushes outside to make a snowman. With coal eyes, an old green hat and scarf and a tangerine nose, he is perfect and James can hardly bear to go inside and leave him. In the middle of the night, he wakes and creeps out to see his snowman again - and to his amazement, the snowman comes to life.... This special tale of true Christmas magic will bring everyone's favourite childhood festive character to a brand-new audience.

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.

At the outbreak of World War I, Joey, young Albert's beloved horse, is sold to the cavalry and shipped to France. He's soon caught up in enemy fire, and fate takes him on an extraordinary odyssey, serving on both sides before finding himself alone in no man's land. But Albert cannot forget Joey and, still not old enough to enlist, he embarks on a treacherous mission to the trenches to find him and bring him home.

Sir Michael Morpurgo retells 10 of Shakespeare’s best-loved plays in this stunning audio collection in association with the RSC, featuring readings by members of the Royal Shakespeare Company and Michael himself. This collection includes Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, Henry V, Twelfth Night, Taming of the Shrew, The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest.

Laura Perryman's family has always lived on Bryher. She lives with her twin brother, Billy, and her mother and father and her Granny May. Bryher is one of the Isles of Scilly. It's a very tiny island, and it is very hard work trying to scratch a living there. The sea feeds the people of Bryher. Billy, fourteen years old and bored with the unending milking routine, is feeling the strain. So, when the General Lee, bound for New York, calls at St. Mary's for repairs to the mizzen mast Billy secures his passage.

It’s 1944. Elizabeth's father is fighting with the German army on the eastern front. Her mother works at Dresden zoo, where her favourite animal is a young elephant named Marlene. When the zoo director tells her the dangerous animals must be shot to prevent them running amok when the town is bombed, Elizabeth's mother moves Marlene into the back garden to save her… and then the bombs start to fall.

Jo finds out that Jewish children are being smuggled away from the Nazis over the mountains near his village. All goes to plan until German soldiers start patrolling the mountains, and Jo realises the children are trapped. Jo's slightest mistake could have devastating consequences.

A stunning new emotional tour-de-force from the author of Shadow, Born to Run and War Horse. May, 1915. Alfie and his fisherman father find a girl on an uninhabited island in the Scillies - injured, thirsty, lost… and with absolutely no memory of who she is, or how she came to be there. She can say only one word: Lucy. Where has she come from? Is she a mermaid, the victim of a German U-boat, or even - as some islanders suggest - a German spy?

A stunning new classic from master storyteller Michael Morpurgo in the vein of Private Peaceful and The Butterfly Lion. This is a landmark new novel from the nation's favourite storyteller, set in the unique landscape of the Camargue in the South of France during WW2. There, a young autistic boy lives on his parents' farm among the salt flats and the flamingos that live there. There are lots of things he doesn't understand, but he does know how to heal animals.

Michael Morpurgo's inspiring new story of Robbie, a boy in a coma – victim of a car accident. Locked inside his own head, able to hear but not move or speak, Robbie tries to keep himself from slipping ever deeper into unconsciousness.

A gentle and deeply moving story of a young girl and her bear, told with great charm by a master storyteller. High in the mountains, in a tiny village, an abandoned bear cub is adopted by a lonely orphan child. Soon they are inseparable, beloved by the whole village - safe, until the arrival of a glamorous film crew who need a dancing bear....

Set on a farm in rural Devon, Farm Boy is a collection of Grandpa's reminiscences and stories, touchingly told to his grandson. Joey was the last working horse on the farm, and the apple of Grandpa's eye. In War Horse, Joey was sent away from the farm to be a warhorse in World War I. Grandpa had joined the cavalry in order to find, and fight, with Joey. Farm Boy brings us forward 50 years....

The powerful new novel from the master storyteller - inspired by the true story of one man who might have stopped World War II. It's 1940. The train is under attacks from German fighters. In the darkness, sheltering in a railway tunnel, the stranger in the carriage with Barney and his mother tells them a story to pass the time. And what a story. The story of a young man, a young soldier in the trenches of World War I who, on the spur of the moment, had done what he thought was the right thing.

Things have been difficult for Harry since his mother remarried. With a new baby at home, and only trouble at school, life is unbearable. Ocky the chimp, escaped from the circus, offers Harry a chance for a new life. Things have been difficult for Harry since his mother remarried. With a new baby at home, and only trouble at school, life is unbearable. Ocky the chimp, escaped from the circus, offers Harry a chance for a new life. With his friend, Harry runs away from all the people who seem so hard on him.

A thought-provoking and rich collection of short stories, many of which reflect the author’s love of myths and legends, his close observations of family life, and his skills as a unique storyteller. A beautiful collection of short stories written by one of the best-loved children’s authors of all time. This collection includes Micael Morpurgo's enchanting stories "Giant's Necklace", "Ancient Time", "Silver Ghost", and "Muck and Magic".