Animal Stories
1999
First Published
3.54
Average Rating
222
Number of Pages
Inspired by classroom time and television programming devoted to wildlife, conservation, and environmental issues, today's children have a zest for the outdoors and an ardent appreciation of the creatures with which they share the planet. This collection offers a caliber of stories and extracts several notches above the expected fare in a compilation. The list of renowned contributors includes such luminaries as John Steinbeck (The Red Pony), Michael Morpurgo (Waiting for Anya), and Jack London (The Call of the Wild). With such stories as Rudyard Kipling's The Cat that Walked by Himself, through favorites such as Paul Gallico's The Snow Goose, and contemporary tales such as Ted Hughes' powerful Iron Woman, Animal Stories is a terrific introduction to classic literature and nature writing for children and young adults.
Avg Rating
3.54
Number of Ratings
61
5 STARS
21%
4 STARS
30%
3 STARS
36%
2 STARS
8%
1 STARS
5%
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Author
Michael Morpurgo
Author · 138 books
Sir Michael Andrew Morpurgo, OBE, FRSL is the author of many books for children, five of which have been made into films. He also writes his own screenplays and libretti for opera. Born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, in 1943, he was evacuated to Cumberland during the last years of the Second World War, then returned to London, moving later to Essex. After a brief and unsuccessful spell in the army, he took up teaching and started to write. He left teaching after ten years in order to set up 'Farms for City Children' with his wife. They have three farms in Devon, Wales and Gloucestershire, open to inner city school children who come to stay and work with the animals. In 1999 this work was publicly recognised when he and his wife were invested a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to youth. In 2003, he was advanced to an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL) in 2004. He was knighted in the 2018 for his services to literature and charity. He is also a father and grandfather, so children have always played a large part in his life. Every year he and his family spend time in the Scilly Isles, the setting for three of his books.
