Red Eyes at Night

by Michael Morpurgo

Millie's cousin Geraldine is a show-off and a pain. So Millie plots revenge. She tells Geraldine about the ghost with red eyes who lives in the garden shed and comes out at night - but manages to scare herself silly in the process! Everyone is furious, but Millie and Geraldine end up the best of friends!



A brilliant story about making friends with a funny, slightly spooky twist.

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

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

[Sharmin Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Morpugo writes a story about a young girl named Millie who is extremely envious of her younger cousin; Geraldine. Geraldine seems to be perfect at everything and receives a lot of praise and attention from Millie’s grandmother and mother. She also takes over Millie’s whole room when she comes to stay and steals all the affection from her beloved dog; Bingo!

After deciding she cannot take anymore, Millie devises a mischievous plan to frighten poor Geraldine. She creates a story about a red eyed monster that smells of pepper and lives in her father’s shed. On the first night that Millie had thought about her grand plan, Morpugo allows the reader to feel as though they are in the setting of the story; Millie’s bedroom. The pages are black as night, and when it is the next morning, the colour of the pages change according to the time of day in the story.

Millie’s plan of continuing to keep her cousin frightened backfires numerously, as her mother and grandmother reassures Geraldine that there are no such things as ghosts. However, Millie does not give up; she keeps on going, determined to prove Geraldine otherwise! The theme of jealousy drives the story as well as Millie’s determination. She takes the next step and plans to take her cousin to look inside her father’s shed one night and show her the ghost’s red eyes.

Soon, Millie’s plan backfires; as not only did she frighten her cousin to the extent where she fainted, but she managed to feel terrified herself! This imaginative story allows the reader to understand that it is not nice or safe to take practical jokes too far. Not only can the joke turn on you, but the receiver can seriously get hurt. Written in the first person throughout, the reader feels that the narrator is speaking directly to them. This places importance on the reader and engages the reader’s attention.

I would say that this book would be suitable for years 2-4, as these year groups will be able to grasp the messages portrayed and understand the narrator’s feelings. Also I can imagine this book can be relatable for many children who have younger siblings, due to the constant rivalry between them. Most children can relate to have conjured stories themselves, in order to frighten younger siblings/cousins and will therefore, find it very amusing to read.

This story can be used for a literacy task. It can inspire children to use imagery and figurative language themselves, in order to create their very own believable, ghost. The teacher can share a few with the whole class and even make it cross curricular, and have them draw images to accompany their descriptions.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Millie is rather jealous when her cousin Geraldine visits. She does not get along with Geraldine at all and calls her a hoity-toity stuck up little toad. During a power cut, Millie comes up with a spooky plan to scare Geraldine and teach her a lesson once and for all. Pepper, cold chills and red eyes glowing in the night are all part of Millie's plan, but it doesn't go quite as she expects!

Michael Morpurgo has written a short but exciting book with plenty of fun to be had. It's not very scary at all, and it's more of a comedy book as Millie tries her hardest to convince Geraldine that the ghost is real. I really enjoyed it and have to give it five stars because it's such a great read.

[Maple Class · Rating 5 out of 5]

Millie's cousin Geraldine is a show-off and a pain. And anything Millie can do Geraldine can do better. Only one thing will keep her quiet, and that's a ghost with bright red eyes. A ghost lurking in the garden shed. And at the end they both get scared.
By Elizabeth

[Rosie Vince · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book as a child I remember I had the audio book and would listen to is often.

[Klare · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely story for younger readers.

[Lydia.290 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ⭐️

Millie's cousin Geraldine is a show-off and a pain. So Millie plots revenge. It involves mischievously hatching her plan in her dad’s shack despite being forbidden to enter without permission. She tells Geraldine about the ghost with red eyes who lives in the garden shed and comes out at night - but manages to scare herself silly in the process! Everyone is furious, but Millie and Geraldine end up the best of friends!

A brilliant story about making friends with a funny, slightly spooky twist
Witty illustrations by Tony Ross
Short but exciting book
7+
Relatable to many children as they may have siblings that they are jealous of, likewise some children may have made up stories to frighten siblings.
It deals with the classic issue of jealousy in young children.
It can inspire children to use imagery and figurative language themselves, in order to create their very own believable, ghost.
Just right for newly-independent readers.
A follow-up activity from reading this book could be to re-write a passage from the book but include more descriptive vocabulary to describe the scene where the girls think they have found the ghost.

[Kieran Curtin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, as it deals with the classic issue of jealousy in young children. As the blurb opens, 'Millie's cousin Geraldine is such a goody-two-shoes'. Millie's hatches a brilliant plan to scare Geraldine, which inevitably backfires. Instead, Geraldine has the last laugh and they all live happily ever after. The illustrations are simple but effective, and this book could be ideal for KS2 children.

[R.W. Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book to read to your kids. It's full of character and adventure and if you're like me and like putting on character voices, it's great for that. It's a little on the spooky side too, which kids just love! Highly recommend for a quick read.

[Gzchealsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mostly like it cause it has my name only reason i like it but it is also very funny

[Suzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 9 year old son really enjoyed reading this book, he thought it was funny and now wants to read other books by Michael Morpurgo.