LoveReading Says
Winner of the Independent Booksellers' Prize 2010. Prize-winning author Michael Morpurgo’s new novel is a towering adventure and emotional roller coaster set at the time of a great tsunami. Trying to get over his father’s death, Will and his mother travel to Indonesia for a trip of a life time.
For his Christmas present, Will is given a ride on an elephant. Elephants are his favourite animals and when Will sets off on Oona’s back he feels like a king. But then Oona begins to act strangely and soon she and Will are fighting for their lives as the great tsunami comes crashing in.
Reviewed by Julia Eccleshare M.B.E.Julia Eccleshare has spent her working life to date within children’s books as a critic, an editor, an author and a commentator.
More reviews by Julia Eccleshare M.B.E. About Running Wild
The epic and heart-rending jungle adventure from the nation's favourite storyteller Michael Morpurgo. 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.
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Running Wild Synopsis
The epic and heart-rending jungle adventure from the nation's favourite storyteller Michael Morpurgo. 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.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780007267026 |
| Publication date: |
27th May 2010 |
| Author: |
Michael Morpurgo |
| Publisher: |
HarperCollins an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
347 pages |
| Reading age: |
9+ |
| Primary Genre |
Young Adult Fiction
|
About Michael Morpurgo
Michael Morpurgo has written over 90 books and has an unparalleled reputation in the world of children's books. His books have been adapted for the cinema, TV and theatre and he has won numerous awards including Children's Book Award, Whitbred Children's Book Award and the Smarties Prize.
Michael Morpurgo is, in his own words, "oldish, married with three children, and a grandfather six times over." After schools in London, Sussex and Canterbury (one of which was horrible enough to inspire him to describe it obliquely in The Butterfly Lion), he went on to London University to study English and French, followed by a job in a primary school in Kent. It was there that he discovered what he wanted to do. "We had to read the children a story every day and my lot were bored by the book I was reading. I decided I had to do something and told them the kind of story I used to tell my kids - it was like a soap opera, and they focussed on it. I could see there was magic in it for them, and realised there was magic in it for me."
Living in Devon, listening to Mozart, and working with children have provided most of the stimulae Michael needs to discover and write his stories. He spends about half his life mucking out sheds with the children, feeding sheep or milking cows; the other half he spends dreaming up and writing stories.
Michael Morpurgo, former Children's Laureate and author of bestsellers such as War Horse and Why The Whales Came, is the inaugural President of the Historical Writers Association beginning in Autumn 2011. The Historical Writers' Association (www.thehwa.co.uk) will celebrate its first anniversary in October. It was founded to bring social and professional support to writers of historical fiction and non-fiction, publishers, agents and booksellers, all bound both by their common interest in historical books and by the sense of community that comes from a shared obsession.
STOP PRESS: The Harrogate History Festival
Author of War Horse and over 130 books, and much-loved by readers of all ages, Michael Morpurgo will be at the Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate on Friday 23 October. Prepare to be inspired! Click here to find out more.
More About Michael Morpurgo
