Spring

by Michael Morpurgo

Spring. 1st March. There is snow on the high tors of Dartmoor, and mountains of clouds are building up over the moor and coming our way. I know it is spring, only because it is March now, the first day, and because snowdrops and daffodils and primroses are everywhere. So it must be spring...

Michael Morpurgo has lived on Nethercott farm in Devon for more than 40 years. In Spring, he observes the changing season, as new shoots emerge and seeds are sown, lambs are born and blossom flowers overhead. We accompany him on walks, encounters with animals, and his local community. He reminiscences about childhood and springs gone by. This is a burst of springtime joy from one of the nation's best loved authors.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction, Memoir, Poetry, Animals, Audiobook

160 pages, Hardcover

Published June 3, 2025

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

[Stephen the Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Seasons are the tides of our lives"

With the impact of climate change increasingly showing changes to the natural world and are our lworlds, the need for a certainty of the seasons has never been stronger as these"tides" seem to be evolving in new directions.

Michael Morpurgo has written a beautiful meditation and tribute to the changing of the seasons- the move from the grey and darkness of winter into the light and new shoots of spring.

This is a gentle and sensitive read- a personal review of life in the Devon countryside and the signs symbolising the arrival of Spring captured in delicate observations; the comings and goings of the bird feeder; walks in the countryside; the birth of new life - sheep and cows and harbingers of Spring ( new shoots of growth and the delights of the swallows arriving)

There is no doubting the reflective quality of the prose interspersed with poetry but also the hope for the future and the younger generations rectifying the errors of the past - the observations of the children staying on the farm are a delight.

There are many wonderful books about the seasons - but this is a personal contemplation and celebration that gives us all hope for the. months ahead. Michael Morpurgo is the consummate children's storyteller but this book- for young and old - is a delight that will help many reconnect and take a closer look at the changes around them in the spring months as well as enjoying the joys of a Devon springtime.

A quiet and reflective delight

[Zoe Wardrop · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book already means so much to me. A new favourite.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it might become a ritual of mine to pick this up and re-read it every spring.

Michael Morpurgo invites you and inspires you to take notice of and appreciate the natural world in this warm and beautiful book. I devoured it very quickly but I wish I had spent more time savouring it, which is why this will not be the last time I immerse myself in these pages.

After reading this, I found myself noticing things on my regular dog walks that I hadn’t paid much attention to previously. Seeing the world through Morpurgo’s words is always a delight.

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely read. Michael Morpurgo charts the changes brought by spring on his patch in Devon. The March he writes about seems similar to next February we have just had, (fortunately March is considerably drier), so it all feels very familiar. He lives in a farm in the Devon countryside, 'Tarka the Otter' territory we learn; the farm welcomes school children to spend time there and learn a bit about the workings of the farm, something that clearly means a lot to the author, and was lovely to read about.

Early on in the book, he is yearning for bluebells, and the arrival of the first swallows, and it is wonderful to read about the arrival of these; both things I look forward to every year myself, along with other things.

I hope we get books on the other three seasons, these will make lovely additions to my shelf.

*Many thanks to Netgally and the publishers for a copy in exchange for an honest opinion*.

[Grace -thewritebooks]

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review

After finishing Wilding, I was a little trepidatious heading straight into another 'nature non-fic' straight away, but this book turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. My e-copy was only about 150 pages long, and this gentle little book took me through the many beautiful moments of the lead up to Spring (and Spring itself!) in the Devonshire countryside. Not only this, but Morpurgo writes with heartfelt reflection on a wide range of topics, certainly a book I would return to as I would a book of poetry so benefit from such wonderful prose!

[Lucy Preston · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would make the perfect coffee table book to dip in and out of but as it is primarily observations and ramblings about Spring it wasn’t the most engaging to read from cover to cover.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d not read Morpurgo before. He’s known primarily as a children’s author; if you’ve heard of one of his works, it will likely be War Horse, which became a play and then a film. This is a small hardback, scarcely 150 pages and with not many words to a page, plus woodcut illustrations interspersed. As revered English nature authors such as John Lewis-Stempel and Richard Mabey have also done, he depicts a typical season through a diary of daily life on his land. For nearly 50 years, his Devon farm has hosted the Farms for City Children charity he founded. He believes urban living cuts people off from the rhythm of the seasons and from nature generally; “For so many reasons, for our wellbeing, for the planet, we need to revive that connection.” Now in his eighties, he lives with his wife in a small cottage and leaves much of the day-to-day work like lambing to others. But he still loves observing farm tasks and spotting wildlife (notably, an otter and a kingfisher) on his walks. This is a pleasant but inconsequential book. I most appreciated how it captures the feeling of seasonal anticipation – wondering when the weather will turn, when that first swallow will return.

Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.

[Libby Low · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous ode to springtime in the idyllic Devonshire countryside. Filled with literary references, poems, and beautiful illustrations Morpurgo has managed to capture exactly what makes spring so precious a season with this book that is filled with hope and fragility. The pacing feels like an amble through the woods as attention is drawn to all the small aspects of nature we often miss.

Morpurgo's love for this season especially shines through with both the adoration of his farming life and community and the passion he speaks with about fostering this love in younger children who are welcomed onto the farm each year to make core memories.

Absolutely blown away by this and felt very moved, definitely one of the best books I've read this year and will be one of my all-time favourites for sure.

[Klare · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story and some poems about springtime.A nice reminder to how many amazing animals we have here in Britain.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The season of spring as told by the author who is also a farmer and has been living in a deeply rural valley in Devon for over 40 years. Excellent reading! Some lovely illustrations by Charlotte Whatmore but not enough of them.

[Lydia Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written and illustrated catalogue of spring 🌼🌸

[em · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful gem of a book, with glorious details of British Springtime. I love spring, with the bright sunrises and surprisingly long sunsets, and this was all captured gorgeously by Morpurgo. There were so many wonderful lines that had me picturing the countryside and its rolling hills. A perfect read for nature lovers.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #Spring #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It is the author's view of his home farm from early spring to the coming of summer. I love Devon and have found the valley where he lives. It is most beautiful, idyllic. He talks about the children who come from the city to spend time on the farm. It is good to know where food comes from and those who are stewards of the land. I find that traditions can go back so far we no longer know how they started. There's a seasonal connection to the land, a song that is repeated with minor variations for millennia.

[Beth LL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my usual read but well written, made me feel nostalgic and hopeful

[Aaliyah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed listening to the audiobook on my walks this spring, Michael’s voice is very soothing!

[Lieni · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5

[Matthewsgirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

very wholesome but it was a 150 page description. Appreciated the mention of the depletion of rivers.

[Sally Slade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 56 of my #60before60; a book about nature. A thoughtful, observant account of the changing of the seasons. His first book for adults in 40 years. Excellent.

[Charles Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my year 10 English Literature class, my slightly terrifying teacher dictated that all who dared to use the adjective 'nice' in their writing would be met with swift and severe punishment. She was quite right, it is a particularly dull word.

However, according to the dictionary, 'nice' can be used to describe something as pleasant, agreeable and enjoyable. And in this case, it feels applicable. It may even warrant a preceding adverb. I could speak of the ways the book made me long for the countryside. Instead, I'll keep it short:

This book was very nice.

[Jayne Hood · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a wonderful book full of the joys and signs of Spring, beautifully written. A real pleasure to read.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A joy to receive an early copy of a Michael Morpurgo book - particularly as it is non-fiction nature writing, entirely up my street! This one is fairly straight forward, with Michael longing for the start of spring, for the end of relentless rain... Commentary on wider issues like the benefits of encouraging children to spend time in nature and around working farms sit alongside introspective segments on particular highlights of spring. It's relatable, easygoing, and a bit of a love letter to the season - and always nice to get a little insight into a fiction writer's life outside of their stories.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s interesting to read a nature book by someone who would not usually be described as a ‘nature writer’ but who connects enough with nature to be able to write about it. This was a really charming slice of life book about Spring of 2024 on the Morpurgo’s farm in the middle of Devon. It’s lambing season and school children have come to spend a few nights on the farm and learn about the ways of farming life and perhaps if they’re lucky, see a new lamb being born. Meanwhile, Michael and his wife Clare watch the coming of the swallows, who nest each year in the garage, the frog spawn in the puddle, bluebells in bluebell wood and all the things that mark the coming of spring.
I really enjoyed this and reading it during spring solidified how special this season is even more.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

An evocation of spring, and the job it has on the wheel of the year, dragging us through the last of the rainy and cold days (and this was 2024, a notoriously wet and miserable spring) to the growing, bursting, sunny climes of summer. Morpurgo just wishes the bluebells to come to life in the woods on his farm, and for the swallows to readopt their homes in what had been planned to be his garage but is now their des-res, and knows when to stop feeding the wild birds, for that means spring is here and the birds are more independent.

It's a 'nature notes' book from someone who doesn't see the incredibly exotic, who doesn't know the name for everything. One sighting has to be verified by a neighbour before he's sure what flew over. It's not a 'here's my specialist knowledge' kind of memoir, but there is wisdom here. For the book shows us how vital spring is to the world, and how it's still fragile enough to need our help to restore nature to what is was like before us, and how much his charity (bringing city-dwelling kids to the wild landscape of the farm for a week's working break) acts as a spring in someone's life. People, in each year and in their whole time on this earth, may want to jump from being a bud to the halcyon days of summer and plenty, but a spring of variety, insecurity, care and growth is very much for the best.

It's a quick read, and for fairness I saw a digital review copy minus the artwork, and is probably only for those of the same sentiment as the author. I can see some people not quite appreciating it – perhaps I'm one of them, to some extent – but as a populist nature piece, it has all the populism and strong, unshowy writing of the man's typical output. A perhaps cautious recommendation, then, but this – read as it was on the spring equinox – was always able to give pleasure.

[jolovesbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

How sad that there's no image of this book as it's so beautiful and that's partly what drew me to it (yes, I judged a book by it's cover!)

This is the story of one spring in the author's life, told through observations, stories and poetry. The book highlights the tell tale signs that lift our spirits, as they are signs that spring is close by.

The author has a deep connection with nature and also a deep respect, as he reminds us the woods belong to the trees and so on.

There are some special moments, like when the author sits and watches an otter who pops its head above the water eighty times while feeding ("... or was it to see me?") over a half hour period. We also feel the author's excitement, for example while waiting for a sighting of the first bluebells of the season (leading to "a fanfare of bluebells, announcing themselves to the world with a flourish of sudden colour. I'd forgotten how deep a blue they are en masse, how sweet and surprising the scent of them.")

This celebration of spring and nature bursts with joy and the hope. I luxuriated in it, in no hurry to finish.


"Walking is good for wondering."

"... time really is 'like an ever-rolling stream' and it does bear us all away, but I'm also reminded that time, like spring each year, brings new life, new strength, new hope - and summer."

"We need the daylight and warmth of spring to renew our optimism, to cast away the shadows. And so does the natural world about us."

"... how good it is to be alive on such a day, in such a place."


Snow Falls - John Tams:
And there will come a time of great plenty,
A time of good harvest and sun,
Till then put your trust in tomorrow, my friend,
For yesterday's over and done.

The snow falls, the wind calls,
And the year turns round again,
And like barleycorn who rose from the grave
A new year will rise up again.

[Elainedav · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a beautiful short book. It is part memoir and part nature literature, with the author writing about his observations throughout one spring. Michael and wife Clare have lived on the same farm in Devon for decades. He describes the farm and surrounding areas, especially his riverside walk on the banks of the torridge and you are transported there, somewhere between Exmoor and Dartmoor. I loved the observations of different flowers appearing for the first time and the longing for the bluebells to appear. I can relate to that.

My favourite part of the book was the storytelling around the building of the garage and it becomming very expensive accommodation for the swallows. I was instantly envious! I also loved the poetry that appears throughout, from Shakespeare quotations to original writing by the author.

There are also reflections on Michael's charity work, specifically the charity which allows primary school children to spend time on farms, feeding animals, planting trees and helping out however they can.

This is a lovely read and will be enhanced by illustrations, which were not present in the e-copy I received. I found the ending somewhat abrupt, but as the book follows the months through late spring, it suddenly comes to summer and therefore, I suppose, it had to end.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Bertie Brady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spring: The Story of a Season is a memoir by Michael Morpurgo that documents the spring season from his farm in Devon.

Spring has always been my favourite season. Partially because of it being a welcome and not yet taken-for-granted change of pace from the dreariness of winter and because of it being the nice middle point between the sometimes stifling heat of summer and the biting cold of winter. In this memoir, Morpurgo perfectly encapsulates the renewal of life in all facets during spring.

Morpurgo experiences the changing of the seasons from his farm in rural Devon, where he notes that the changing of the seasons can not be ignored in the same way as those in urban areas. The thatched homes are not well insulated, and mud and rain are unavoidable. Morpurgo offers beautiful personal observations of the changes which occur in spring, particularly the growth in wildlife, including his personal favourite swallows. It also documents his experiences on his farm, which has welcomed children from urban areas every spring for decades so they can connect with the natural world, something Morpurgo fears people are increasingly detached from. Intersected in his accounts is poetry, sometimes from himself and sometimes from other authors, which reflects on the spring season.

This memoir is a beautifully composed personal account of spring, perfectly capturing its sense of hope and renewal.

[Belinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This small book is comprised of chapters that chronicle the long winter days, wet, windy, cold, that lead up to the stirrings of Spring. They begin with the goldfinches, wrens, etc on the bird feeder, their reliance on scraps put out by humans. Then they shift to a place of, "Do we really want to continue helping them, they need to be wild."

Meanwhile there are children from schools visiting for a week long stay to experience farm life, the natural world, the birth of a lamb. There is Michael out walking, constantly looking for the tender green bud on a willow or a bluebell, the first swallow, a cherry bud cracking open.

This is a nice book but I found it very heavy on references to all male poets and writers. Of course there is Shakespeare, but also Hughes who I think is overrated, Frost and several other well known poets. There's no mention of John Clare, surely the most pastoral of all, or people like Mary Oliver or Kathleen Jamie or Dart by Alice Oswald. Obviously Michael doesn't read women.

Anyway, it's a book that focuses mostly on nature and how we must care for the land and the rivers. I completely agree with this sentiment and I enjoyed reading about the birds and plants as Spring took over from winter. However, it isn't, for me, as interesting as Storm Pegs by Jen Hadfield or Plath's poems about the bees and horses, grass and trees of Devon.

[Stephanie Bivens · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn’t until I became a gardener that I truly fell in love with spring. This season is absolutely magical - there’s nothing like watching the earth wake up from its dormancy and show its first signs of life with buds forming, new growth peeking out of the soil, and the elongation of sunny days that make you want to stay outdoors just a liiiiiittle bit longer. Morpurgo captures the eager anticipation of spring’s arrival well, along with the harmony that comes with living an existence in tune with the seasons.

With that said, while I loved the premise of this book and some of Morpurgo’s lyrical prose, this either could have been condensed into a long essay, or imbued with more reflection for a full book. While the beginning dazzled with the author’s joy at the season, we soon got lost in too-long descriptions of the physicality of sheep and wrens. I’m more interested in how the author related to new life emerging in the natural world in a season of rebirth than in 20+ pages describing the process of lambing.

All in all, a good read and one that gardeners and those who live in tune with their environments will appreciate. Thank you to NetGalley and Mobius Books for the ARC!

[Hege-Kristin Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spring by Michael Morpurgo is a lovely tribute to the season that brings light, hope, life, and brightness. Through Morpurgo's experiences on his farm, we get a mix of humorous, philosophical, encouraging, sometimes sad, and beautiful depictions of what spring brings to nature.

I really enjoyed how Morpurgo blends poems, music, personal anecdotes, and literary references into this book. It reads like a literary diary, a memoir, but also a beautiful story that reminds us how nature goes on, with or without us.
All seasons deserve to be celebrated, and this short, pleasant book does a wonderful job of honoring spring. It's a perfect little gift book for anyone who loves to reflect on life in nature. I found it to be a lovely read that made me appreciate the beauty that spring brings. It left me feeling quite nostalgic and humble about nature's wonders.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first non fiction book for adults Michael Morpurgo has written in over 40 years. As I love his children’s books I was excited to pick up a signed copy of this book and I was not disappointed. It’s a beautiful, wholesome and sensitive read and a gentle tribute to the passage of the seasons. I truly hope he releases one for summer, autumn and winter as well as they are sure to also be a delight. This is Morpurgo’s personal accounts of his idyllic life on his farm in the peaceful Devon countryside and he has captured Spring perfectly with his insightful observations. Everything is delightfully interspersed with segments of poetry and beautiful illustrations. I breezed through this book in a day on a peaceful Spring morning and it’s one I would dip into each year to help mark the change from Winter.