Michael Morpurgo

Orphaned Arthur Hobhouse is shipped to Australia after World War II and has to leave everything behind, including his sister. Over the years Arthur endures many hardships but his love of the sea sustains him. When Arthur builds a solo yacht for his daughter, Allie, she sails to England in search of her father's long lost sister.

An enchanting take on the legend of King Arthur from War Horse author and former Children's Laureate, Michael Morpurgo.

Marooned on a sandbank, a boy faces certain death. With the sea closing in and the current about to drag him to a watery grave, his final wish is to see heaven. Waking in a strange bed, the boy meets an old man sitting by the fire with his dog. It is Arthur, the great warrior king of legend, and from his lips the boy hears of Camelot, chivalry, magic, evil and betrayal.

Billy the Kid is told through the voice of an 80 year old man, who looks back on his life as Chelsea’s champion striker until the outbreak of war in 1939 and on through his subsequent life.

For Best Mate, being rescued from drowning as a young puppy is only the start of his adventures. From unwanted burden to favourite companion, and from pet to champion race dog, this remarkable greyhound proves that it’s not just cats who have more than one life.

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…

Bertie rescues an orphaned white lion cub from the African veld. They are inseparable until Bertie is sent to boarding school far away in England and the lion is sold to a circus. Bertie swears that one day they will see one another again, but it is the butterfly lion which ensures that their friendship will never be forgotten.

A moving story of a brother, a sister and a swallow, and how all are in some way victims of the horrors of landmines.

Olly’s brother Matt wants to go and work with children who have been made orphans, through war, in Africa. He wants to be a clown and make them laugh. His mother and sister want him to stay in England and go to university.

Hero, a swallow, has a journey to make too. He must fly to Africa for the winter to join all the other swallows. His journey is difficult and fraught with danger.

Three separate stories are woven into one powerful and moving novel whose central theme not only exposes the horrors of war and of landmines, but also the endurance of the human spirit.

Turned away by his own son, Cessie’s long-lost grandfather finds himself in the place he fears most a nursing home called Shangri-La. Only Cessie loves him and is determined to help him escape and unravel the truth of his past. A past that comes to him only in glimpses a lifeboat, a tin of condensed milk, a terrifying night on the beaches of Dunkirk in World War II…

Everyone knows the Big Hill is full of gold, and now the islanders are intent on cutting the top off it and making themselves rich. Jessie and Jake are determined to save the Big Hill but what can they do? A plan is needed, and fast. Could the ghost of Grania O'Malley, the pirate queen, be the answer? You don't know what you can do until you try.

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 a young boy goes from the city to stay on the farm, he discovers a world he never knew existed - a world of vegetable gardens, ducks and geese, where the sheep graze in the fields, where apples and pears grow in the orchard. He also meets Jemima the pig: she smells and she slobbers, she breaks out of her pen to steal potatoes, and she’s the undisputed queen of the farm.

Soon, he’s hiding acorns in his pockets to feed to her every time he sees her. But then, Jemima starts to feel ill. Could she have eaten too many acorns? Or does this queen of a pig have a secret? 

This is a World Book Day 2022 title.

In 15th century France, a young peasant girl faces an overwhelming task: to save her beloved France from tyrants and restore the rightful king to the throne. To free her country Joan must leave behind everyone she has ever loved, apart from her faithful sparrow, Belami. But with huge bravery and fierce determination, she follows her calling and is finally granted permission to ride fearlessly into battle, leading the French army against the enemy.

Many years later, a lonely girl called Eloise has a very special dream about her heroine, Joan of Arc. In this moving account by master storyteller Michael Morpurgo, Joan of Arc's extraordinary story is brought to life as never before. 

After being shipwrecked Michael is struggling to survive alone on a Pacific island. Unable to find food and water, he curls up to die. When he awakes he finds food and drink beside him and realises that he is not alone!

Escaping from China as the Japanese invade, Ashley and Uncle Sung embark on a perilous journey across the Himalayas.

When battling the hostile environments of the mountains, and finding himself alone in an unfamiliar world, Ashley’s courage is put to the test. And a mysterious and terrifying encounter at the hands of an unknown tribe might just change everything.

Bullied at school, nagged in Aunty May's tenth-floor council flat, there's only one place ten-year-old Billy really feels alive - in the wilderness by the canal. There he watches a cygnet on the water and protects a family of fox cubs. Then his secret place is discovered and the fox family decimated. Unwanted and unloved, Billy and the last fox run for their lives…

Three brilliant stories that will captivate young readers by War Horse author and former Children's Laureate, Michael Morpurgo.

The Marble Crusher: Does Mr Manners, the headmaster, really have a machine that crushes marbles? Albert thinks so.

Colly's Barn: Colly the owl and Screecher the swallow band together to save the barn.

Conker: Nick beats the bully, Stevie Rooster, and becomes Conker king. But can he rescue a mistreated dog while searching for the best conker?

Life for Harry becomes unbearable when his mother remarries and his baby brother is born, so he decides to run away with Ocky, a chimpanzee from the circus. But who will rescue Harry and Ocky when their lives are in danger?

A cat's nine lives are full of adventure and excitement and none more so than Montezuma, the farmyard cat. From a young kitten to a grand old cat, he is cunning and proud while establishing his kingdom, but to Matthew, he's always loving and adorable. 

This story is not a story at all. It all happened.

On New Year's Day Becky Morley begins to write her diary. By March, her world has changed for ever. Foot-and-mouth disease breaks out on a pig farm hundreds of miles from the Morleys' Devon home, but soon the nightmare is a few fields away. Local sheep are infected and every animal is destroyed. Will the Morleys' flock be next? Will their pedigree dairy herd, the sows with their piglets, and Little Josh, Becky's hand-reared lamb, survive? Or will they be slaughtered too?

The waiting and hoping is the most agonizing experience of Becky's life...

Told in the voice of Private Tommo Peaceful, the story follows twenty-four hours at the front, and captures his memories of his family and his village life - by no means as tranquil as it appeared.

Full of vivid detail and engrossing atmosphere, leading to a dramatic and moving conclusion, Private Peaceful is both a compelling love story and a deeply moving account of the First World War.

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.

After a fierce storm, a boy of today discovers an arrowhead and a human skull, buried beneath the roots of an ancient oak tree. A skull with a legendary past: the heroic story of Robin Hood...

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. And 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 in a common aim: to bring relief and justice to the poor and to punish the evil Sheriff of Nottingham.

When 10-year-old Will's father dies in the Iraq war, his mother surprises him with a trip to Indonesia. He is riding Oona the elephant on the beach when a tsunami wave comes crashing in and Oona begins to run. With nothing but the shirt on his back and a bottle of water, Will must learn to survive deep in the jungle.

Michael loves summer holidays in Wales, and Dadci’s tall stories about the Sandman, the old Russian sea captain and blood-red dragon in his lair. Little cousin Polly believes every word of the magical tales and she’s determined to make it all come true.

One moonlit night a boy sees a swan arrive on a lake near his home. After befriending her he watches through the seasons as she finds a mate and starts a family.

An enchanting take on the legend of King Arthur from Britain’s best-loved children’s author, Michael Morpurgo.

‘There stood before me an ancient man swathed in a dark and tattered fleece, his long hair and beard matted with filth, his face grey with grief and age. Holding the sword out in front of me, I backed away until I felt the sink behind me and I could go no further. His eyes followed me all the way.'

When Bun Bendle is struck blind, he feels like he is drowning in blackness. But the discovery of an ancient tomb and a strangely familiar sword changes him forever.

From a blackbird in a Devon garden to leopards in the African savanna, hibernating bears and chimpanzees high in the forest canopy, A Song of Gladness reminds us all of our connection with nature, and with each other, and the urgent need for us to join together in caring for the planet and every creature in it.

Antonito lives on his parents' bull farm in Andalucia. He hand-rears and befriends Paco, a bull calf. When he realises that Paco is destined for the struggle of the bullring he leads him to safety in the mountains, where their lives are changed by the civil war.

Ireland is stricken by the potato famine, and Annie and Sean O'Brien are sent to search for their father in America. Ill-equipped for such a journey, they won't give up without a fight, and this is the tale of their thrilling adventures on their journey from Cork to California.

In the deadly chaos of the First World War, one horse witnesses the reality of battle from both sides of the trenches. Bombarded by artillery, with bullets knocking riders from his back, Joey tells a powerful story of the truest friendships surviving in terrible times. One horse has the seen the best and the worst of humanity. The power of war and the beauty of peace. This is his story.

Gracie and her friend Daniel have always been warned to stay away from the Birdman and his side of the island. But then they find a message in the sand and discover the Birdman is not who they thought.

But his warnings to stay away from the abandoned and cursed Samson Island stay with them. And when those warnings seem to be coming true, Gracie and Daniel must find out what the Birdman knows - before it's too late…

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…