The Wreck of the Zanzibar

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Like the acclaimed Number the Stars , this well-plotted novel features a young Gentile hero battling the Germans in their war against the Jews. As it opens, Jo is guarding the sheep when his dog Continue reading » Life on the island isn't easy, and this is repeatedly made clear throughout the book. The people of the island are constantly threatened by the forces of nature, wind and sea. The truth is that once we weren't children anymore, we never did believe Grandpa's story, not really\x97as much as we might have wanted to.... We still loved listening to it, though. Christmas nights Continue reading » A pitch-perfect delivery brightens this familiar-seeming tale about stories that come true. Visiting his relatives at their farm in Wales every summer, Michael looks forward to Gramps's storytelling, Continue reading »

Wreck of the Zanzibar Reading Comprehension | Teaching The Wreck of the Zanzibar Reading Comprehension | Teaching

I'm usually fine with not a lot happening in a story but this didn't work for me when I read it. On saying this, discussing Billy's adventures would be exciting for children and perhaps the simple and rather dull aspect of life on the Scilly Isles at the turn of the 20th century was a true reflection. I liked the idea that the story closes with Michael, just as it opened with him. Morpurgo does this A LOT - a story within a story. So, when the General Lee bound for New York calls at St Mary's for repairs to the mizzen mast Billy secures his passage as a cabin boy. He has left the islands before his parents know anything about it. Laura has lost her twin brother. She is devastated. Her parents are also devastated. They have lost their only son. And ill fortune besets the family. They lose their cows. It's a very bad time. Everyone is hungry and families start to drift away from Bryher. When Granny May had gone up to bed this evening Father said, 'It's like the beginning of the end. In a few years' time Bryher will be like Samson and Tean, abandoned and deserted, left to the rabbits and the birds.' He cried and I knew I didn't hate him any more, I knew I loved him still. Mother won't cry. I've never seen Mother cry. She put her arms around Father and held him, and that's the first time she's done that since Billy left. A distinguished British pair brings on the violins for this sentimental story built atop the Holocaust. A young journalist is to interview world-famous but idiosyncratic violinist Paolo Levi, and Continue reading » Writing. Drama or discussion task – related to the chapter/s read and covering a wide variety of genres.An award-winning duo teams up for Sir Gawain & the Green Knight. England's children's laureate Michael Morpurgo retells this classic medieval tale with illustrations by Michael Foreman. Morpurgo Continue reading » The hardship on the island deepens when a storm rips off roofs, smashes houses and drowns the few cows on which the islanders are dependent for their milk. Hope disappears. Even Laura's parents are estranged from each other because of Billy's departure. The book has some other interesting parts relating to Laura - the great aunt of Micheal who has recently passed away and in her will, has left him a diary. I love diary related stories, such a great way of capturing a person in a most intense way, it's easy to write down one's feelings and be completely honest about all the emotions being poured out and etched on to the paper. The book is written in the form of a diary. The entries are shorted on days of turmoil and frustration. The entries are longer when something remarkable has happened.

The Wreck of the Zanzibar by Michael Morpurgo | Goodreads The Wreck of the Zanzibar by Michael Morpurgo | Goodreads

I loved the way in which Michael Morpurgo wrote the story, reading Laura's diary entries I felt that it was more personal and carried a lot more emotion. The story begins with Michael's great aunt Laura who has just passed away, who has left him her diaries for him to read. The diary is written over a year when Laura was 14 years old and documents her troubled family life that led to her twin brother running away to sea. This truly broke Laura's heart. The diary entries tells the story of this time for Laura and the events that led to Laura saving the day not just for her family but for everyone that lived on the the island of Bryher. I enjoyed reading this short book about the life of Laura, a girl living on a desolate island in the early 20th century.Pooling their considerable talents once again, Morpurgo and Birmingham (previously teamed for Wombat Goes Walkabout) craft a superb picture book about a boy, a special swan and the sometimes cruel Continue reading » Laura Perryman's family has always lived on Bryher. She lives with her twin brother, Billy, and her mother and father, and her Granny May. They have four milking cows, which is enough to keep the entire population of the island supplied with milk. Of course, almost evey family keeps a fishing boat. The sea feeds the people of Bryher. But can you imagine how it must feel to grow up in such a tiny community, working so hard and having so little? Billy, fourteen years old and bored with the unending milking routine, is feeling the strain.