By Michael Morpurgo (author) , Polly Dunbar (illustrator)
"A true story of first love and first-night nerves"
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Hardback In Stock £12.99 £11.69
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November 2020 Book of the Month
Michael Morpurgo is the consummate storyteller and this little tale, perfectly illustrated by Polly Dunbar, reveals how even as a child he had storytelling at his fingertips. The narrative is based on his own memories of childhood and of performing in the school’s Christmas production of Edward Lear’s poem The Owl and the Pussycat.
Michael loved the poem and was chosen to play the Owl. Excitement rises as the performance approaches especially as Belinda, his first love, is chosen to play the Pussycat. Adults will appreciate the book’s delicate sense of memories of past life, while children will love it for the humour, the drama and the sheer joy that comes from calamity turned to triumph.
It is quite beautifully told, and Polly Dunbar’s illustrations exactly capture all that readers will find in the story.
If it inspires you to read Lear’s poem, as well it might, there are picture book versions gorgeously illustrated by Ian Beck and Charlotte Voake, while Julia Donaldson has written a glorious sequel also illustrated by Voake .
Read more about Michael Morpurgo, our Guest Editor for September 2020, here.
When he lands a starring role in the school Christmas play of The Owl and the Pussycat, Michael is over the moon. He is going to be Owl - Too-wit-too-woo!
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And when his best friend, Belinda, is chosen to be Cat, Michael can't believe his luck - Miaow! But will it be all right on the night? Find out in this true story of first love and first-night nerves.
'A perfect marriage, not only for the Owl and the Pussycat, but also for Polly Dunbar's exquisite illustrations and Michael Morpurgo's evocative text. What a beautiful book!' Emily Gravett
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. His books have sold over 35 million copies worldwide in almost 40 languages to date. A former Children’s Laureate and current President of BookTrust, Michael was knighted in 2018 for services to literature and charity. He has won many prestigious awards including the Smarties Prize, the Writers Guide Award, the Whitbread Award, the Blue Peter Book Award and the Eleanor Farjeon Lifetime Achievement Award.
His novels have been adapted in a number of plays and films including War Horse directed by Stephen Spielberg (2011), Private Peaceful, Waiting for Anya and Kensuke's Kingdom (2023) which has been nominated for 'Best Feature Film' at the 2024 British Animation Awards
The National Theatre’s adaption of War Horse has been seen by over 10 million people in over 100 cities around the world, broke the West End record for weekly ticket sales and won 5 Tony Awards and 2 Olivier Awards The National Theatre's global phenomenon of War Horse is returning to UK theatres in September 2024.
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.
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The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Owl or Pussycat? and determined it is suitable for children aged 5-8 years old
Owl or Pussycat? features in the following genres: Books of the Month, Recommendations, Stories about Family and Friends, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Featured Books for 7+ readers, Festive Fiction, Funny, Featured Books for 5+ readers, School Stories
Paperback, Hardback. £7.19, down from the £7.99 cover price. In Stock.
Owl or Pussycat? was written by Michael Morpurgo and published by David Fickling Books
Owl or Pussycat? has 40 pages
£7.19, reduced from £7.99. In Stock.
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