The Classic Collection Volume 2: Unabridged edition

By Michael Morpurgo, Read by Michael Morpurgo

Three unforgettable novels have been turned into fantastic audiobooks written by the award-winning former Children’s Laureate, Michael Morpurgo. Actors include Derek Jacobi, Jamie Glover and Michael Morpurgo.

Kensuke’s Kingdom

When Michael is washed up on an island in the Pacific after falling from his parents’ yacht, he struggles to survive on his own. But he soon realises there is someone close by, someone who is watching over him and helping him to stay alive. Following a close-run battle between life and death, the mysterious stranger – Kensuke – allows Michael into his world and they become friends, teaching and learning from each other, until the day of separation becomes inevitable.

Private Peaceful

Told in the voice of a young soldier, the story follows 24 hours in his life at the front during WW1, and captures his memories as he looks back over his life. Full of stunningly researched detail and engrossing atmosphere, the book leads to a dramatic and moving conclusion.

Both a love story and a deeply moving account of the horrors of the First World War, this book will reach everyone from 9 to 90.

Butterfly Lion

Bertie rescues an orphaned white lion cub from the African veld. They are inseparable until Bertie is sent to boarding school far away in England and the lion is sold to a circus. Bertie swears that one day they will see one another again, but it is the butterfly lion which ensures that their friendship will never be forgotten.

Format: Other Format
Ageband: from 7
Release Date: 07 Jan 2010
Pages: None
ISBN: 978-0-00-733647-0
Detailed Edition: Unabridged edition
Michael Morpurgo OBE is one of Britain\'s best-loved writers for children, and has sold more than 35 million books around the world. He has written more than 150 novels and won many prizes, including the Smarties Prize, the Whitbread Award and the Blue Peter Book Award, while several of his books have been adapted for stage and screen, including the global theatrical phenomenon War Horse. Michael was Children’s Laureate from 2003 to 2005, and founded the charity Farms for City Children with his wife, Clare. He was knighted in 2018 for services to literature and charity.

-

Related Articles

Edinburgh Fringe – Private Peaceful

About the show: ‘Private Peaceful at the theatre is a moving experience that not only tells the story of a young soldier’s final day in World War One, but perhaps more importantly conveys the strength of human spirit’ (Michael Morpurgo). ‘The horrors of war and the joyfulness of life are… Read More

Edinburgh Fringe – Kensuke’s Kingdom

About the show: Off on the adventure of a lifetime, Michael, his parents and their faithful dog Stella set sail around the world. Then, the night before his 12th birthday, disaster strikes. Washed overboard, Michael finds himself stranded on an island in the Pacific. But he is not alone… Stuart… Read More

Michael at the memorial of Thomas Samuel Henry Peacefull

Michael Morpurgo’s novel Private Peaceful was partly inspired by the memorial of a young soldier that he saw in the Bedford House Cemetery in Ypres, Flanders.  A few years after the book first published, Maxine Keeble  was researching her family tree and thought that there might be a connection. She… Read More

Michael Morpurgo wins record-breaking fourth Children’s Book Award

Michael Morpurgo and illustrator Michael Foreman have been named overall winners of The Children’s Book Award 2017, cementing Michael’s position as one of the most celebrated children’s authors in the country.   Their book, An Eagle In The Snow also won the Books for Younger Readers category, before going on to… Read More

Private Peaceful | Pick Me Up Theatre

From 14 – 18 March 2017 a one-man stage adaptation of Private Peaceful will be performed at the John Cooper Studio Theatre, York. Private Peaceful tells the story of a young First World War soldier as he recalls his childhood memories while waiting for dawn on the Western Front. George Stagnell plays… Read More