Alone on a Wide Wide Sea

Description

How far would you go to find yourself? The lyrical, life-affirming novel from the bestselling author of Private Peaceful and War Horse. There were dozens of us on the ship, all up on deck for the leaving of Liverpool, gulls wheeling and crying over our heads, calling good-bye... That is all I remember of England. When six-year-old orphan Arthur Hobhouse is shipped to Australia after WWII he loses his sister, his country and everything he knows. Overcoming enormous hardships with fellow orphan Marty, Arthur is finally saved by the extraordinary people he meets and by his talent for boat-design and sailing. Now he has built a special boat for his daughter Allie - a solo yacht designed to carry her to England in search of his long-lost sister. Will the threads of Arthur's life finally come together? I was there on the quayside to see Allie take her out for the first time, saw her dancing through the waves, and I knew I'd never built a finer boat.

Multi-award winning author, Michael Morpurgo, is one of Britain's best-loved writers for children and has won many prizes, including the Smarties Prize, The Writers Guild Award and the Blue Peter Book Award for his recent novel, Private Peaceful, which has also had two successful runs as a play devised by Bristol Old Vic. From 2003 to 2005 he was the Children's Laureate, a role which took him all over the UK to promote literacy and reading, and in 2005 he was named the Booksellers Association Author of the Year.

"Lyrical and moving, it is one of the former Children's Laureate's best books for years." Amanda Craig, The Times "His best book in years... I was completely hooked." Kate Kellaway, The Observer Review "A powerful story." The Guardian Children's Books Supplement 'Executed with Morpurgo's distinctive flair. His language remains beautifully clean and clear.' Waterstone's Books Quarterly "[A] very satisfying read... The masterful writing makes the characters come to life on the page... I'm recommending this to adult friends as well as teenagers." Books for Keeps "Michael Morpurgo strikes gold... this is a life-rewarding novel." Angels & Urchins "This is storytelling at its best." Primary Times "Incredibly moving, harrowing and completely unputdownable. A first class story that brings history alive." My Child magazine "Completely unputdownable." Families Magazine