A new illustrated story celebrating the poppy's history. Michael Morpurgo and Michael Foreman have teamed up with the Royal British Legion to tell an original story that explains the meaning behind the poppy.In Flanders' fields, young Martens knows his family's story, for it is as precious as the faded poem hanging in their home. From a poor girl comforting a grieving soldier, to an unexpected meeting of strangers, to a father's tragic death many decades after treaties were signed, war has shaped Martens's family in profound ways - it is their history as much as any nation's. They remember. They grieve. They honour the past. This book also includes a full-colour, illustrated afterword that explains the history that inspired the story.

A moving countryside tale about the power of friendship and creativity from the nation's favourite children's author.

Bonny has always wanted to be a top cyclist, maybe even a future Olympic champion like her hero, Laura Trott. When she gets a new racing bike for her birthday, she heads out into the Dales like always, speeding along. But when she's distracted by some cheeky horses, she comes off her bike and discovers that the horses belong to a quiet woman who has an amazing collection of statues on her lawn - a buffalo, a horse lying down, even a man running. Gradually, Bonny gets to know Lizzie and forms a special bond with her horse, Merry, when she is given a job at Lizzie's farm. Bonny is even introduced to a life-sized sculpture of Merry in Lizzie's studio and is allowed to pose as its rider, a completely magical experience. She learns from Lizzie that a true gift is never to be wasted, and if you "breath the world in deep", you can do anything.

Die Voelman toor en vervloek mense. Moenie met hom praat nie. Bly ver van hom af weg. Gracie en Daniel word gewaarsku om nie naby die Voelman te kom nie, maar 'n boodskap in die sand laat hulle besef dat hy anders is as wat almal dink. Hulle verdwaal een nag in digte mis en beland alleen op 'n verlate eiland. Is die Voelman se stories waar? Is die plek vervloek?

A stunning new classic from master storyteller Michael Morpurgo for readers of 9+, 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. He loves routine, and music too: and every week he goes to market with his mother, to ride his special horse on the town carousel.

But then the Germans come, with their guns, and take the town. A soldier shoots a flamingo from the sky, and it falls to earth terribly injured. And even worse is to come: the carousel is damaged, the horses broken. For this vulnerable boy, everything is falling apart.

Only there’s a kind sergeant among the Germans – a man with a young boy of his own at home, a man who trained as a carpenter. Between them, perhaps boy and man can mend what has been broken – and maybe even the whole town…

A stunning new classic from master storyteller Michael Morpurgo for readers of 9+, 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. He loves routine, and music too: and every week he goes to market with his mother, to ride his special horse on the town carousel. But then the Germans come, with their guns, and take the town. A soldier shoots a flamingo from the sky, and it falls to earth terribly injured. And even worse is to come: the carousel is damaged, the horses broken. For this vulnerable boy, everything is falling apart. Only there's a kind sergeant among the Germans - a man with a young boy of his own at home, a man who trained as a carpenter. Between them, perhaps boy and man can mend what has been broken - and maybe even the whole town...

Join the fun on the farm! A charming story from award-winning author Michael Morpurgo, hilariously illustrated throughout by Shoo Rayner, and perfect for readers of 5 and up. Two funny farmyard stories for younger readers. Martians at Mudpuddle Farm: Have Martians landed on Mudpuddle Farm? Farmer Rafferty seems to think so. Now it's up to Albertine, Goose Queen, to work it out. Luckily she's the cleverest goose in the whole world, so if anyone knows what to do, she will... Mum's the Word: Something strange is going on at Mudpuddle Farm. Egbert the goat is not himself at all. Instead of grumbling, he's singing and dancing! And he's even greedier than usual...

The powerful new novel from the master storyteller - inspired by the true story of one man who might have stopped World War II. 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. It turned out to have been the worst mistake he ever could have made - a mistake he must put right before it is too late...

A stunning new edition of this modern classic of World War One, featuring a new introduction by the author and insightful testimonies from soldiers, to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. 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. Extra material: - Introduction by Michael Morpurgo - Inspiration letter by Michael Morpurgo - Background on the execution of British soldiers in WW1 for cowardice, including personal testimony from soldiers

Join the fun on the farm! A charming story from award-winning author Michael Morpurgo, hilariously illustrated throughout by Shoo Rayner, and perfect for readers of 5 and up. Two funny farmyard stories for younger readers. Jigger's Day Off "Time has come for harvest, Jigger. So I shan't be needing you all day. It's your day off, my dear." Jigger the sheepdog has just one day off a year. Just one day to chase all those little animals hiding in the corn. But even the best plans go wrong... And Pigs Might Fly! "Flying was not nearly as easy as it looked. Pintsize stood up on his back trotters and flapped his front ones - trotters, he thought, would do just as well as wings." It's a long hot summer, and Pintsize the piglet wonders if it might be cooler in the sky. But when he tries to fly, he annoys just about everyone. It's time he learned his lesson...

“Ek sal my lewe lank aan jou dink, ek belowe ek sal. Ek sal jou nooit vergeet nie.” Bertie red 'n wit leeuwelpie uit die veld in Afrika. Hulle is onafskeidbaar, maar dan word Bertie ver weg na 'n kosskool in Engeland gestuur en die leeu word aan 'n sirkus verkoop. Bertie sweer hulle sal mekaar eendag weer sien, maar die skoenlapperleeu maak seker dat hulle vriendskap nooit vergeet sal word nie. “Die skoenlapperleeu is uniek onder diere en boeke en sal almal se harte raak – jonk sowel as oud.” Virginia McKenna, born free-stigting.

The perfect gift for all ages, Pinocchio as you've never seen him before: telling his own story through the master storyteller and award-winning author of WAR HORSE. "Now - there's no point in pretending here - I was, and still am deep down, a puppet. Everyone knows Pinocchio is a puppet. I reckon I must be just about the most famous puppet the world has ever known. But the truth is I'm not just a puppet, I'm more than just bits of wood and string. I'm me. So I thought it was about time that I, Pinocchio, told you my story..." So begins this stunningly beautiful interpretation of the classic story. Michael Morpurgo channels Pinocchio's words to tell the famous puppet's story in his own inimitable, cheeky and always funny way. Lavishly illustrated throughout in full colour by the acclaimed Emma Chichester Clark, this is a must-have gift for all book lovers, and an utterly charming and surprising adaptation of a much-loved tale.

Krygsperd (War Horse in die oorspronklike Engels) vertel die aangrypende verhaal van die dapper Joey, 'n perd wat in 1914 verkoop word en kort daarna as oorlogsperd in die middel van die choas en ontbering van die Eerste Wereldoorlog beland. Die boek het aanleiding gegee tot Steven Spielberg se gewilde gelyknamige rolprent, wat in 2011 op die grootskerm vrygestel is.

A NEW TRANSLATION BY MICHAEL MORPURGO, AUTHOR OF WAR HORSE

If a little fellow comes along, if he laughs, if he has golden hair, and if he never answers questions, then you will know who he is.

He is the Little Prince, the mysterious, innocent and beautiful boy who appears to a pilot stranded in the desert and makes an extraordinary request. He has captured the hearts of millions of readers around the world since his story first appeared in 1943, written down by an aristocratic French aviator who soon after disappeared during a flight across the sea. The Little Prince journeys to our planet from his home among the stars, encountering all sorts of benighted grown-ups along the way, and a fox, who teaches him how to see the important things in life. But the Prince has left behind a flower growing on his star, a rose which is his treasure and his burden, and before long he must return to it.

Master storyteller Michael Morpurgo, author of War Horse, has translated what is for him 'one of the greatest stories ever written' so that more English readers might discover the joy of reading this enchanting fable. The Little Prince is a story for everyone, for children and grown-up children, for kings, geographers and lamp-lighters, even for the very serious and the very wise.

Michael Morpurgo's classic tale, capturing the power of the human spirit. First published back in 1982, `War Horse' has taken the world by storm. The book was adapted to the stage and was performed at the National Theatre and on Broadway. This full and unabridged edition is beautifully performed by the National Theatre's first Albert, OIivier-award-winner Luke Treadaway. 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.

The powerful new novel from the master storyteller - inspired by the true story of one man who might have stopped World War II. 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. It turned out to have been the worst mistake he ever could have made - a mistake he must put right before it is too late...

ILLUSTRATED BY CHRISTIAN BIRMINGHAM.

A lyrical and moving tale of a young boy growing up in Africa, and his lifelong friendship with a white lion.

“All my life I’ll think of you, I promise I will. I won’t ever forget you.”

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 true story of two brothers and the war that changed everything.

Michael Morpurgo’s wonderful storytelling and Barroux’s stunning artwork combine to tell the true story of Michael’s uncles against the epic backdrop of World War Two.

Francis and Pieter are brothers. As the shadow of one war lingers, and the rumbles of another approach, the brothers argue. Francis is a fierce pacifist, while Pieter signs up to fight. What happens next will change the course of Francis’s life forever . . . and throw him into the mouth of the wolf.

Lizzie and Karl's mother is a zoo keeper; the family has become attached to an orphaned elephant named Marlene, who will be destroyed as a precautionary measure so she and the other animals don't run wild should the zoo be hit by bombs. The family persuades the zoo director to let Marlene stay in their garden instead. When the city is bombed, the family flees with thousands of others, but how can they walk the same route when they have an elephant in tow, and keep themselves safe? Along the way, they meet Peter, a Canadian navigator who risks his own capture to save the family.
As Michael Morpurgo writes in an author's note, " An Elephant in the Garden" is inspired by historical truths, and by his admiration for elephants, "the noblest and wisest and most sensitive of all creatures." Here is a story that brings together an unlikely group of survivors whose faith in kindness and love proves the best weapon of all.

How far would you go to find yourself? The lyrical, life-affirming new novel from the bestselling author of Private Peaceful 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... When orphaned Arthur Hobhouse is shipped to Australia after WWII he loses his sister, his country and everything he knows. The coming years will test him to his limits, as he endures mistreatment, neglect and forced labour in the Australian outback. But Arthur is also saved, again and again, by his love of the sea. And when he meets a nurse whose father owns a boat-building business, all the pieces of his broken life come together. Now, at the end of his life, Arthur has built a special boat for his daughter Allie, whose love of the sea is as strong and as vital as her father's. Now Allie has a boat that will take her to England solo, across the world's roughest seas, in search of her father's long-lost sister... Will the threads of Arthur's life finally come together?

Beloved children's author Michael Morpurgo has re-imagined Raymond Briggs' classic The Snowman for a new generation of readers.

One December morning, James is thrilled to wake up to see snow falling.

He spends the whole day making his perfect snowman; he has coal eyes, an old green hat and scarf and a tangerine nose... just like the snowman from his favourite story.

That night, something magical happens- the Snowman comes to life!

He and James take to the skies on a magical adventure where they meet someone very special.

Inspired by the timeless tale, Michael Morpurgo and Robin Shaw have created the perfect Christmas story for the whole family.

Five unforgettable novels have been turned into fantastic audiobooks written by the award-winning former Children's Laureate, Michael Morpurgo. The novels chosen for this collection are `Dear Olly', `Billy the Kid', `Out of the Ashes', `Farm Boy' and `Kaspar'. OUT OF THE ASHES When Becky Morley begins keeping her diary in January, foot and mouth disease is just an item on the news, something happening hundreds of miles from her family's farm in Devon. But now the nightmare is a few fields away and local flocks are being destroyed. Will the Morleys' animals be next? Will their cattle, their sows and piglets escape the cull? And what about Little Josh, Becky's hand-reared lamb? The waiting and hoping is the most agonising experience of Becky's life... BILLY THE KID 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. FARM BOY Set on a farm in rural Devon, this is a collection of Grandpa's reminiscences and stories as told to his grandson. Grandpa's nature and his touching relationship with the boy is evoked superbly by Michael Morpurgo's writing. KASPAR Kaspar the cat first came to the Savoy Hotel in a basket - Johnny Trott knows, because he was the one who carried him in. Johnny was a bell-boy, you see, and he carried all of Countess Kandinsky's things to her room. DEAR OLLY A moving story of a brother, a sister and... a swallow and how all are in some way victims of the horrors of landmines.

Luxury collector's hardback gift edition. An epic and heart-rending jungle adventure from the bestselling author of `War Horse' and `Born to Run'. For Will and his mother, going to Indonesia isn't just a holiday. It's an escape, a new start, a chance to put things behind them - things like the death of Will's father. And to begin with, it seems to be just what they both needed. But then Oona, the elephant Will is riding on the beach, begins acting strangely, shying away from the sea. And that's when the tsunami comes crashing in, and Oona begins to run. Except that when the tsunami is gone, Oona just keeps on running. With nothing on his back but a shirt and nothing to sustain him but a bottle of water, Will must learn to survive deep in the jungle. Luckily, though, he's not completely alone... He's got Oona.

The stunning novel set during World War One from Michael Morpurgo, the nation's favourite storyteller and multi-million copy bestseller. 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...? Only one thing is for sure: she loves music and moonlight, and it is when she listens to the gramophone that the glimmers of the girl she once was begin to appear. WW1 is raging, suspicion and fear are growing, and Alfie and Lucy are ever more under threat. But as we begin to see the story of Merry, a girl boarding a great ship for a perilous journey across the ocean, another melody enters the great symphony - and the music begins to resolve... A beautiful tour de force of family, love, war and forgiveness, this is a major new novel from the author of PRIVATE PEACEFUL - in which what was once lost may sometimes be found, washed up again on the shore...

Luxury collector's hardback gift edition. A heart-warming tale of courage, set against the backdrop of the second world war, about an abandoned village, a lifelong friendship and one very adventurous cat. "Something's up. Something big too, very big. At school, in the village, whoever you meet, it's all anyone talks about. It's like a sudden curse has come down on us all. It makes me wonder if we'll ever see the sun again." It's 1943, and Lily Tregenza lives on a farm, in the idyllic seaside village of Slapton. Apart from her father being away, and the 'townie' evacuees at school, her life is scarcely touched by the war. Until one day, Lily and her family, along with 3000 other villagers, are told to move out of their homes - lock, stock and barrel. Soon, the whole area is out of bounds, as the Allied forces practise their landings for D-day, preparing to invade France. But Tips, Lily's adored cat, has other ideas - barbed wire and keep-out signs mean nothing to her, nor does the danger of guns and bombs. Frantic to find her, Lily makes friends with two young American soldiers, who promise to help her. But will she ever see her cat again? Lily decides to cross the wire into the danger zone to look for Tips herself... Now, many years later, as Michael is reading his Grandma Lily's diary, he learns about The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips - and wonders at how one adventurous cat could still affect their lives sixty years later.