Christmas Stories

Description

Curl up by the fireside with an enchanting collection of Christmas stories from Britain's best-loved children's author, Michael Morpurgo. Lose yourself in faraway lands and unexpected adventures with five festive tales from the man who gave us War Horse. The Best Christmas Present in the World The Best of Times The Goose is Getting Fat On Angel Wings Mimi and the Mountain Dragon The Best Christmas Present in the World A mysterious letter in a secret drawer brings one night in the Great War vividly to life. Writing home from the front, a soldier has an incredible story to tell. The Best of Times When the Prince and Princess marry, joy rings out across the land. But all too soon it fades away and a shadow hangs over the royal palace. As Christmas approaches, Prince Frederico must find a way to warm his new bride's aching heart. The Goose is Getting Fat Gertrude the goose is getting bigger by the day, and Charlie is proud to look after her. But as Christmas approaches, the thought of the grizzly fate awaiting her fills him with sadness. Can he save Gertrude from the Christmas dinner table? On Angel Wings One cold Christmas night, a shepherd recounts the magical story of how he came to be the first visitor to the newborn Christ child - ahead of the other shepherds, and in complete secret. Mimi and the Mountain Dragon In her castle lair high in the mountains of Switzerland, lives a terrible dragon. In the village below, lives a little girl called Mimi. When she finds a baby dragon in the woodshed, she makes a brave decision that will bring joy and peace to the village for ever. In this stunning collection, the former Children's Laureate demonstrates why he is considered to be the master story teller. Each individual Christmas story also features beautiful illustrations from the biggest names in children's books - from Roald Dah's illustrator Quentin Blake to Michael Foreman and Emma Chichester Clark to Sophie Allsopp and Helen Stephens. The perfect Christmas storytime experience for children aged 4 and up. A real thing of beauty. Look out for some of Michael's other great books: Little Foxes, Why the Whales Came, Friend or Foe, Mr Nobody's Eyes. Michael Morpurgo is the master storyteller of Kensuke's Kingdom, An Eagle in the Snow, Listen to the Moon, Shadow, and An Elephant in the Garden. Michael Morpurgo has written more than a hundred books and 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.

Michael Morpurgo OBE was born in 1943 in St Albans and was educated at Kings Canterbury, Sandhurst and Kings College London. He taught for ten years in both state and private schools and is married with three children and six grandchildren. His first book was published in 1975 and he has since published over 100 titles. His books have been translated into over twenty languages. Michael's books have also been adapted for film and the stage, including most recently the National Theatre's enormously successful production of War Horse. Together with his wife Clare he founded Farms for City Children, an educational charity, in 1976. The organisation now runs three farms welcoming over 3,000 children a year. In 1999 he was awarded an MBE for services to youth, and in 2006 he was awarded an OBE. His books have won the Whitbread Award (The Wreck Of Zanzibar), the Smarties Book Prize (The Butterfly Lion), the Children's Book Award (Kensuke's Kingdom) and Cercle D'Or Prix Sorciere (King Of The Cloud Forests), the Blue Peter Book Award and the Califonia Young Reader Medal (Private Peaceful), the Independent Booksellers' Book of the Year Award (Alone On A Wide Wide Sea) and several have been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. Michael was Children's Laureate from 2003-2005.