Listen to the Moon by Michael Morpurgo

by Michael Morpurgo

The stunning novel set during World War One from Michael Morpurgo, the nation’s favourite storyteller and multi-million copy bestseller.

May, 1915.

Alfie and his fisherman father find a girl on an uninhabited island in the Scillies – injured, thirsty, lost… and with absolutely no memory of who she is, or how she came to be there. She can say only one Lucy.

Where has she come from? Is she a mermaid, the victim of a German U-boat, or even – as some islanders suggest – a German spy…?

Only one thing is for she loves music and moonlight, and it is when she listens to the gramophone that the glimmers of the girl she once was begin to appear.

WW1 is raging, suspicion and fear are growing, and Alfie and Lucy are ever more under threat. But as we begin to see the story of Merry, a girl boarding a great ship for a perilous journey across the ocean, another melody enters the great symphony – and the music begins to resolve…

A beautiful tour de force of family, love, war and forgiveness, this is a major new novel from the author of PRIVATE PEACEFUL – in which what was once lost may sometimes be found, washed up again on the shore…

Hardcover

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stunning novel set during World War One from Michael Morpurgo, the nation’s favourite storyteller and multi-million copy bestseller.

May, 1915.

Alfie and his fisherman father find a girl on an uninhabited island in the Scillies – injured, thirsty, lost… and with absolutely no memory of who she is, or how she came to be there. She can say only one word: Lucy.

Where has she come from? Is she a mermaid, the victim of a German U-boat, or even – as some islanders suggest – a German spy…?

Only one thing is for sure: she loves music and moonlight, and it is when she listens to the gramophone that the glimmers of the girl she once was begin to appear.

WW1 is raging, suspicion and fear are growing, and Alfie and Lucy are ever more under threat. But as we begin to see the story of Merry, a girl boarding a great ship for a perilous journey across the ocean, another melody enters the great symphony – and the music begins to resolve…

A beautiful tour de force of family, love, war and forgiveness, this is a major new novel from the author of PRIVATE PEACEFUL – in which what was once lost may sometimes be found, washed up again on the shore…

Michael Morpurgo's book 'There Once is a Queen' was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 06-06-2022.

[Nichola Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It’s the second time I have read it, having been recommended it by one of my year 5/6 girls a few years back when I was teaching. She said I wouldn’t be able to put it down and she was right. I even gave it to my late mum to read, who was about 82 at the time, and she thought it was brilliant. As a visitor to the Isles of Scilly it is great to read of the local areas (as is the case with so many of Michael Morpurgo’s books. I share his love of the islands). Lots of history is portrayed in this story.
It is so worth a first … and second read!

[Lynn Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. To be honest I hadn’t heard of it before, but it was in a 2nd hand book shop and I couldn’t resist. I remember once reading that “children’s “ books are not just for children; this is certainly true of Listen to the Moon. A wonderful story with many historical facts woven alongside, I really recommend. Nice easy read on a wet afternoon. Do it!

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like with any Morpurgo book this also creates a beautiful story that touches your heart. Little Lucy won my heart. And Alfie and his parents just make me think there are good people in the world too.

[Louise Fincham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Morpurgo never disappoints. This is a beautifully told story of the sinking of the Lusitania during WWI and how one young girl survives.