The Best Christmas Present In The World

Description

The Best Christmas Present in the World is a haunting and memorable Christmas story from Britain's best-loved children's author, Michael Morpurgo. Echoes of Christmas 1914 in the trenches call to the present day when a letter found by chance in an antique desk brings one soldier's experience hauntingly to life. A typically spellbinding tale from the battlefields of World War One from former Children's Laureate and award-winning author of War Horse, Michael Morpurgo. This vivid and emotive war story is matched by the stunning artwork from Michael Foreman. A picture book not to be missed at Christmas time.

Author description

Michael Morpurgo Former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo needs no introduction. He is one of the most successful children's authors in the country, loved by children, teachers and parents alike. Michael has written more than forty books for children including the global hit War Horse, which was made into a Hollywood film by Steven Spielberg in 2011. Several of his other stories have been adapted for screen and stage, including My Friend Walter, Why the Whales Came and Kensuke's Kingdom. Michael has 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. He started the charity Farms for City Children in 1976 with his wife, Clare, aimed at relieving the "poverty of experience" many young children feel in inner city and urban areas. Michael is also a patron of over a dozen other charities. Living in Devon, listening to Mozart and working with children have provided Michael with the ideas and incentive to write his stories. He spends half his life mucking out sheds with the children, feeding sheep or milking cows; the other half he spends dreaming up and writing stories for children. "For me, the greater part of writing is daydreaming, dreaming the dream of my story until it hatches out - the writing down of it I always find hard. But I love finishing it, then holding the book in my hand and sharing my dream with my readers." Michael received an OBE in December 2006 for his services to literature. Michael Foreman Michael Foreman's is one of the world's most celebrated illustrators, having worked on children's books with the likes of Michael Morpurgo and Terry Jones. He also writes and illustrates his own books, including 'War Boy' and 'War Game' - winners of the Kate Greenaway Award and Smarties Book Prize respectively. Michael has also illustrated many classic children's books including 'Treasure Island', 'Peter Pan and Wendy', 'The Wind in the Willows' and 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'.