Alone on a Wide Wide Sea a Book by Michael Morpurgo

There were dozens of us on the ship, all ages, boys and girls, and we were all up on deck for the leaving of Liverpool, gulls wheeling and crying over our heads, calling good-bye, I thought they were waving good-bye. None of us spoke. It was a grey day with drizzle in the air, the great sad cranes bowing to the ship from the docks as we steamed past. That is all I remember of England! When orphaned Arthur Hobhouse is shipped to Australia after WW II he loses his sister, his country and everything he knows. The coming years will test him to his limits, as he endures mistreatment, neglect and forced labour in the Australian outback. But Arthur is also saved, again and again, by his love of the sea. And when he meets a nurse whose father owns a boat-building business, all the pieces of his broken life come together. Now, at the end of his life, Arthur has built a special boat for his daughter Allie, whose love of the sea is as strong and as vital as her father's. Now Allie has a boat that will take her to England solo, across the world's roughest seas, in search of her father's long-lost sister! Will the threads of Arthur's life finally come together?

Review

"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

About the Author

Michael Morpurgo OBE is one of Britain's best-loved writers for children. He has written over 100 books and won many prizes, including the Smarties Prize, the Blue Peter Book Award and the Whitbread Award. His recent bestselling novels include `Shadow', `A Medal for Leroy' and `Little Manfred'. His novel `War Horse' has been successfully adapted as a West End and Broadway theatre play and a major film by Steven Spielberg. A former Children's Laureate, Michael is also the co-founder, with his wife Clare, of the charity Farms for City Children. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.