Why the Whales Came

Michael Morpurgo

Oct 2011 · Egmont UK

About this ebook

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.

Ratings and reviews

Omg we read this as a novel in school and I got from my local library because I live in Ireland and I'm eleven well anyway I love this so much and ive read most your other books I just have to read war of Jenkins ear and shadow so please keep doing what your doing 😊👩‍💻

I read it in my school like the teacher read the story for us and now again I am reading it it amazing . AMAZING JOB

I read the book in school and it is a great book that young readers will enjoy.

About the author

Former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo needs no introduction. He is one of the most successful children's authors in the country, loved by children, teachers and parents alike. Michael has written more than forty books for children including the global hit War Horse, which was made into a Hollywood film by Steven Spielberg in 2011.

Several of his other stories have been adapted for screen and stage, including My Friend Walter, Why the Whales Came and Kensuke's Kingdom. Michael has won the Whitbread Award, the Smarties Award, the Circle of Gold Award, the Children's Book Award and has been short-listed for the Carnegie Medal four times.

He started the charity Farms for City Children in 1976 with his wife, Clare, aimed at relieving the “poverty of experience” many young children feel in inner city and urban areas. Michael is also a patron of over a dozen other charities. Living in Devon, listening to Mozart and working with children have provided Michael with the ideas and incentive to write his stories. He spends half his life mucking out sheds with the children, feeding sheep or milking cows; the other half he spends dreaming up and writing stories for children. "For me, the greater part of writing is daydreaming, dreaming the dream of my story until it hatches out - the writing down of it I always find hard. But I love finishing it, then holding the book in my hand and sharing my dream with my readers." Michael received an OBE in December 2006 for his services to literature.