Descripciones mejoradas de Syndetics:

An exciting historical adventure from War Horse author and former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo.

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. They build up a lovely friendship with him, but when the children get stranded on Samson Island they don't know whether to believe the birdman's story that the island is cursed.



Set against the backdrop of the First World War, in the tradition of Friend or Foe and Private Peaceful Michael Morpurgo brings the emotional reality of conflict to life in a way that is accessible to younger readers. Look out for his other historical adventures including An Eagle in the Snow and Listen to the Moon.



Praise for Why the Whales Came:



'The Scilly Islands off the English coast provide the setting for this well-written historical novel ... good readers will find this a memorable adventure, no less immediate for its setting in the past.' Booklist

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Publishers Weekly Review

With the help of an eccentric ally, best friends Daniel and Gracie lift an island curse while saving a group of beached whales. Ages 8-12. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Booklist Review

Gr. 5-7. The Scilly Islands off the English coast provide the setting for this well-written historical novel, which takes place at the beginning of World War II. Gracie and her friend Daniel have been warned by their parents time and again to stay away from the Birdman, the island recluse. Despite their fears, they come to know and trust the old man. When a whale is beached, they help the Birdman convince their hostile neighbors to help the whale back into the sea, rather than slaughter the animal and bring a curse upon the island. Told from Gracie's point of view, the book convincingly portrays complex characters within a distinctive time and place. Vocabulary and point of view indicate that the narrator is a woman describing her childhood rather than a girl speaking of events as they unfold. Still, good readers will find this a memorable adventure, no less immediate for its setting in the past. --Carolyn Phelan

Notas de autor provistas por Syndetics

British author Michael Morpurgo was born in St. Albans, Hertforshire in 1943. He attended the University of London and studied English and French. He became a primary school teacher in Kent for about ten years. He and his wife Clare started a charity called Farms for City Children. They currently own three farms where over 2000 children a year stay for a week and experience the countryside by taking part in purposeful farmwork.

He has published over 100 books and several screenplays. He won the 1995 Whitbread Children's Book Award for The Wreck of the Zanzibar, the 1996 Nestle Smarties Book Prize for The Butterfly Lion, and the 2000 Children's Book Award for Kensuke's Kingdom. Private Peaceful won the 2005 Red House Children's Book Award and the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award. Five of his books have been made into movies and two have been adapted for television. He was named as the third Children's Laureate in May 2003.

(Bowker Author Biography)