One of our Books of the Year 2016 | A Julia Eccleshare Book of the Month October 2016 Award-winning Michael Morpurgo weaves a charming and witty story around sport and history as they have come together in the recent twin triumphs of the City of Leicester with the discovery of the remains of King Richard III in a car park and Leicester City football club winning the 2016 Premier League. The link between the two? A family of foxes! When Daddy Fox finds the ghost of the king and helps to release him from an unseemly grave he is granted one royal wish. What will it be? As a mad-keen footballing family the Foxes have one over-riding wish; that Leicester City can go top of the League. Can the King do it? You bet he can! Michael Foreman captures the spirit of this entertaining adventure perfectly. ~ Julia Eccleshare
Nick Lake at HarperCollins Children’s Books said “Michael is the master, and The Fox and the Ghost King has all the hallmarks of his inimitable storytelling: it’s a ghost story, a fairy tale, and a classic animal adventure, all rolled into one timeless magic spell”
Julia Eccleshare's Picks of the Month for October 2016
Kim by Rudyard Kipling
The Fox and the Ghost King by Michael Morpurgo
Coming to England by Floella Benjamin
Winnie and Wilbur Meet Santa by Valerie Thomas
A Piglet Called Truffle by Helen Peters
Owl Bat Bat Owl by Marie Louise Fitzpatrick
We Found a Hat by Jon Klassen
Leafy the Pet Leaf by Philip Ardagh
The Christmasaurus by Tom Fletcher
A delightful tale of victory against all odds from master storyteller, Michael Morpurgo, lavishly illustrated by Michael Foreman.
Every fox in the whole town, in the whole country just about, is a football fan...And we all have an impossible dream. In a cosy den under a garden shed lives a family of foxes. They love to watch football - all foxes do. But their favourite team keeps losing and losing, and it seems like things will never look up. That is, until Daddy Fox finds the ghost of a king, buried underneath a car park. A king who wishes only to be free. Release me, says the Ghost King, and I can do anything. Just tell me your greatest wish. For these football-loving foxes, might everything be about to change...?
Inspired by Leicester City’s historic premiership win, The Fox and the Ghost King was first created for BBC Radio 4’s Today programme and tells of how a fox’s discovery of the body of Richard III changes the fate of his favourite team. Michael Morpurgo has now grown the original story, creating a beautiful fable of an underdog win and the love between a father and son. This book will delight fans young and old alike and sits perfectly in the canon of classic animals fables created by Michael Morpurgo.
Praise for Michael Morpurgo:
Michael Morpurgo writes brilliantly about war and animals, conveying the big emotions without preaching. Guardian
Champagne quality over a wide range of subjects. Daily Telegraph
There are few children's writers as compelling as Michael Morpurgo. Daily Express
Morpurgo, as always, is subtle and skilful, and incorporates social and moral issues into his writing without being self-righteous or detracting from the quality of the narrative Elizabeth Reilly, British Council
The former children's laureate has the happy knack of speaking to both child and adult readers. Guardian
ISBN: 9780008215804
Publication date: 01/06/2017
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780008215774
Publication date: 22/09/2016
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Format: Hardback
| ISBN: | 9780008215774 |
| Publication date: | 22nd September 2016 |
| Author: | Michael Morpurgo |
| Illustrator: | Michael Foreman |
| Publisher: | HarperCollins Children's Books an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 144 pages |
| Suitable for: | 7+ readers, 9+ readers |
| Genres: | Sporting Stories, Animals |
| Recommendations: | Books of the Month, Julia Eccleshare's Picks, eBooks |
Winner of J M Barrie Award 2016 March 16 was Michael Morpurgo month on Lovereading4kids - click here to view the favourites we selected on themes of Legends, Animals, War and Journeys. Michael Morpurgo, OBE, MBE, is one of the UK’s best-loved authors and storytellers. He was appointed Children’s Laureate in May 2003, a post he helped to set up with his friend Ted Hughes in 1999. He was awarded an OBE for services to Literature in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2007. He has written over 120 books, including Kensuke’s Kingdom which won the Children’...
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