About the Author:
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.
From School Library Journal:
Gr 5 Up—The place: the Scilly Isles, off the coast of Cornwall, England. The time: May 1915, during the bleak early days of World War I when German U-boats patrol the seas and sink British ships. While fishing near a deserted island, Alfie Wheatcroft and his father hear a child crying and discover a sick, traumatized, speechless girl. "Lucy" is all she can say, and "Lucy Lost" is what she is named. Alfie and his parents take her in, and although she slowly recovers her physical health, she remains silent. Brief glimpses of who she might be—her ability to tame the cantankerous workhorse Peg, her skill at drawing, her adoration of music—tantalize the islanders. Early tales that Lucy is part mermaid or ghost, though, soon veer into suspicion that she's actually a German spy, and vicious persecution follows. Since chapters about the Wheatcrofts alternate with the recollections of Canadian American Merry MacIntyre, who is traveling to Liverpool aboard the Lusitania, readers are well aware of Lucy's real identity and root for her recovery all the way. This is a superbly written, gripping novel of friendship, family, healing, and war that is primarily geared toward middle school readers but will appeal to adults as well. By framing Listen to the Moon as a historical study, quoting fictional primary sources, and including helpful background information, Morpurgo may also inspire students to interview relatives and document their own family stories. VERDICT This is one of Morpurgo's best works to date; a first purchase for middle grade and teen collections.—Ann W. Moore, Schenectady County Public Library, NY
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.