Michael Morpurgo has never shied away from controversial subject
matter, and this new offering from the Whitbread Award-winning
author is well up to the standard of its predecessors. Antonito
lives on a farm in Spain at the time of the Civil War. He helps to
deliver a black calf, Paco, and the two form a special bond. Then
he discovers that Paco is destined for the bullring, and appalled
at the idea he plans to let him escape into the hills. But the war
is approaching their village, and Paco flees in fear. In his
preface Morpurgo explains how he was drawn to the storyline by a
walk in the Andalucia region of southern Spain where he stumbled
upon a farm that bred the black bulls associated with bullfighting.
Nearby was a village which had suffered severely during the Spanish
Civil War. His imagination triggered, Morpurgo set about creating a
tale that is both informative and moving and, most importantly,
compelling reading for youngsters. The large typeface is easy to
read and the book is beautifully illustrated throughout by Michael
Foreman - another prodigious award-winner. His haunting images of
ruined villages sit nicely alongside his simple depictions of
animals and people alike, and most fascinating of all are his
images of bulls and horses staring up at warplanes flying over the
countryside. An enchanting book. Ages 7+ (Kirkus UK)
'I didn't tell Paco what I'd seen that day – I didn't ever want him to know. 'It'll be soon,' I told him. I'll take you away so you can live wild up in the hills, where you'll be safe forever and ever. I'll work something out, I promise you."'
Antonito lives an idyllic life on his parent's bull farm in Andalucia, Spain. But the idyll is shattered when he realises that his beloved bull calf, Paco, is destined for the bloody struggle of the bullring. What can he do? He has a plan – a plan of such daring, it will take enormous courage to see it through.
But it is 1936, and the rolling drums of war are echoing across the Spanish plains. Little does Antonito realise the full consequences of his actions – and Paco has a destiny far exceeding Antonito's dreams.
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