LoveReading4Kids Says
LoveReading4Kids Says
Michael Morpurgo followed up his best-selling War Horse with this sequel which brilliantly describes life in the Devon countryside at the time of World War 1. Visiting his grandpa on the farm, a young boy loves to listen to the stories he tells. These include how, as a boy, his heart was broken when his beloved horse Joey was sent away to fight. Determined that they would stay together, even though he was too young to do so at the time, Grandpa signed up so that he could find his horse. Grandpa’s stories take the reader back to World War 1 and the time soon after – including the excitement of a ploughing match - but Grandpa also has a secret to share and he needs his grandson’s help to put it right!
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In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for Farm Boy Lion a small number of children were lucky enough to be invited to review this title. Here's a taster....'I really like this book, not only because of the beautiful drawings and the historical tractor, but mostly because of how simple it is. With two characters, and one scene, it really shows what a success a book can be even if it is short and simple, and also gives the word that writing is always about the quality, not the quantity'
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About
Farm Boy Synopsis
The magical sequel to 'War Horse', soon to be a major motion picture. 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 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...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 irresistible title from acclaimed author-illustrator partnership.
About This Edition
ISBN: |
9780007450657 |
Publication date: |
29th September 2011 |
Author: |
Michael Morpurgo |
Publisher: |
HarperCollins Children's Books an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers |
Format: |
Paperback |
Pagination: |
112 pages |
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Press Reviews
Michael Morpurgo Press Reviews
We have asked a select number of children to review Farm Boy. You can read their reviews below.
Aimee Sweet, age 13 - 'I really like this book, not only because of the beautiful drawings and the historical tractor, but mostly because of how simple it is. With two characters, and one scene, it really shows what a success a book can be even if it is short and simple, and also gives the word that writing is always about the quality, not the quantity.' Click Here to read the full review.
Josh Hall, age 13 - 'Nowhere near as good as War Horse and far too short.' Click Here to read the full review.
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Further praise for Farm Boy.
'Here is a very important book, combining the very best of storytelling and illustration.'
JUNIOR EDUCATION
'If there are such things as contemporary classics, then this, surely is one of them.' Daily Mail
Praise for SHADOW:
As ever, Morpurgo's warmth and humanity suffuse a story of courage, love and hope. - Amanda Craig, The Times
passionate and touching - Julia Eccleshare, Lovereading
Praise for AN ELEPHANT IN THE GARDEN:
This is a handsome, very pickupable book. Brightly and informatively jacketed, its text punctuated by lovely, fluid ink and wash illustrations by Michael Foreman, it deserves a prominent place on school library bookshelves and, if there is any justice in the world, in bookshops. Guardian
A thrilling and moving new 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! Waterstones
For readers aged eight and over, this captivating novel offers an insight into how Hitler came to power, refracted through the gaze of the young narrator. Telegraph
Following the stage success of War Horse, Michael Morpurgo returns with another gem in his animals in war series, An Elephant in the Garden. Telegraph
Author
About Michael Morpurgo
Michael Morpurgo, began writing stories in the early '70's, in response to the children in his class at the primary school where he taught in Kent. One of the UK’s best-loved authors and storytellers, Michael was appointed Children’s Laureate in 2003, a post he helped to set up with Ted Hughes in 1999. He was awarded an OBE in 2007 and a Knighthood in the New Year’s Honours in 2018 for services to literature and charity. He has written over 150 books, including The Butterfly Lion, Kensuke’s Kingdom, Why the Whales Came, The Mozart Question, Shadow, and War Horse, which was adapted for a hugely successful stage production by the National Theatre and then, in 2011, for a film directed by Steven Spielberg. The most recent film adaptation of his books is Waiting for Anya directed by Ben Cookson. He has won numerous awards including those voted for by children themselves, the Blue Peter Book Award and the Children’s Book Award. His latest book is Boy Giant published by Harper Collins Children’s Books and Owl or Pussycat illustrated by Polly Dunbar and published by David Fickling Books.
A son and grandson of actors, Michael has acting in his blood and enjoys collaborating and performing live adaptations of his books at festivals, concerts and theatres.
Michael's books have been translated into many languages including Chinese, Bulgarian and Hungarian, Hebrew and Japanese. He travels all over the UK and abroad talking to people of all ages at literary festivals, telling his stories and encouraging them to tell theirs.
With his wife Clare, he set up the charity Farms for City Children, which offers children and teachers from inner-city primary schools the chance to live and work in the countryside for a week on one of the charity’s three farms in Devon, Gloucestershire and Wales. Over 100,000 children have visited the three farms run by the charity since it began in 1976. Teachers frequently comment that a child can learn more in a week on the farm than a year in the classroom.
For more information about the work of Farms for City Children, please visit www.farmsforcitychildren.org
Michael Morpurgo lives in Devon with his wife Clare.
Anthony Horowitz on Michael Morpurgo:
'Michael Morpurgo is the most solid, classical of children's authors. He sits outside the series-driven blockbusters so beloved of publishers nowadays: he hasn't created a Harry Potter or an Alex Rider – and I admire him for resisting that. We are opposite sides of the same coin and, although his work has never influenced mine, I admire the eloquent, considered voice of his best books. He has an unerring moral compass – his schoolteacher past has never quite left him – and books such as War Horse and The Butterfly Lion have a strong social concience and an honesty that makes them universal.' (The Guardian)
In November 2016 Michael Morpurgo won the J M Barrie Award for his contribution to children’s literature. This award is given every year by Action for Children’s Arts to a “children’s arts practitioner” whose lifetime’s work has delighted children and will stand the test of time.
David Wood, chair of Action for Children’s Arts, said Morpurgo is “one of our greatest storytellers”.
“Michael Morpurgo has thrilled and delighted huge numbers of young readers since becoming a children’s author in the early 1970s," Wood said. "Action for Children’s Arts is delighted to recognise Michael’s outstanding contribution by presenting him with the J M Barrie Award 2016. His work will undoubtedly, like Peter Pan, stand the test of time, making him a truly worthy recipient of this award."
Morpurgo added: “Storymakers and storytellers like Barrie, and like all the previous winners of this award, have given us the hope and faith children need, we need, to keep flying, have sustained us through dark and troubled times, have banished doubt. To touch the lives of children, to witness their listening and reading silence, is reward enough in itself. This is simply the icing on the cake.”
Take a peek at Michael's 10 Rules for Writing.
You can also read about his life in War Child to War Horse, a collaborative biography with Maggie Fergusson.
More About Michael Morpurgo