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Mudpuddle Farm
Cock-A-Doodle-Doo!
Join the fun on the farm!
A charming story from award-winning author Michael Morpurgo, hilariously illustrated throughout by Shoo Rayner, and perfect for readers of 5 and up.
Two funny farmyard stories for younger readers.
Mossop’s Last Chance:
“There’s mice in my barley sacks, there’s rats in my roof and now there’s mice in the corn bin. This time I’ve had enough. If you aren’t up to the job, you will have to go.”
Mossop the old farm cat likes to sleep – and not much else! So when Farmer Rafferty tells him to catch twenty-six mice by sunset, all the animals have to pull together to give Mossop one last chance…
Albertine, Goose Queen:
“Good morning, Madam, I’ve come to eat you. Your friends have all gone. There’s no one to help you now. They’re all very stupid, aren’t they?”
A fox is on the loose, and all the animals except Albertine the goose have hidden themselves inside. Albertine is safe on her island in the pond – at least so she thinks, until the fox starts swimming towards her…
A charming story from award-winning author Michael Morpurgo, hilariously illustrated throughout by Shoo Rayner, and perfect for readers of 5 and up.
Two funny farmyard stories for younger readers.
Mossop’s Last Chance:
“There’s mice in my barley sacks, there’s rats in my roof and now there’s mice in the corn bin. This time I’ve had enough. If you aren’t up to the job, you will have to go.”
Mossop the old farm cat likes to sleep – and not much else! So when Farmer Rafferty tells him to catch twenty-six mice by sunset, all the animals have to pull together to give Mossop one last chance…
Albertine, Goose Queen:
“Good morning, Madam, I’ve come to eat you. Your friends have all gone. There’s no one to help you now. They’re all very stupid, aren’t they?”
A fox is on the loose, and all the animals except Albertine the goose have hidden themselves inside. Albertine is safe on her island in the pond – at least so she thinks, until the fox starts swimming towards her…
- GenresHumor
128 pages, Paperback
First published September 17, 1998
3 people are currently reading
94 people want to read
About the author
Michael Morpurgo
634 books3,044 followersSir 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.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 3, 2022
A greedy sultan who is cruel too encounters a fearless rooster who just wants to take a sparkly button back to his mistress. But the sultan won't lose a single jewel.
This children's book from 1998 is a fun enjoyable read. I think different age groups will like this one and because of all the dialogue I think this would be very fun being read aloud.
This children's book from 1998 is a fun enjoyable read. I think different age groups will like this one and because of all the dialogue I think this would be very fun being read aloud.
June 7, 2021
Once viewing this book through the lens of a traditional tale, I got into it; the traditionally evil character would have been too wicked to bear otherwise. A well-written story with great vocabulary and nuanced humour. 3.5 stars
September 30, 2025
The rich and Greedy sultan loves his jewels more than anything. So when he loses a diamond button he is Very Angry.
He wants his jewel back! But a naughty little red rooster keeps getting in the way...
He wants his jewel back! But a naughty little red rooster keeps getting in the way...
October 4, 2019
Funny and uplifting book and a good read really lifted up my spirits .
January 13, 2020
A fabulous story with plenty of opportunities for discussion about wealth and greed. Lots of great vocabulary to discuss as well.
September 2, 2015
This book is highly recommended for all children aged between 7 and 9 who are confident readers. Michael Morpurgo is a brilliant writer, and it is a very good children’s bedtime story.
It will have everyone in hysterics all the way along. The illustrations by Shoo Rayner will have everybody laughing as every animal seems to have a different facial expression on every page. I particularly found the picture of Diana (the silly sheep) and the hounds cramming through the gate extremely amusing.
There are two short stories in this book and they are set on Mudpuddle Farm. You will get to find out about all the characters that live there as well.
The first story is called, “Mossop’s Last Chance.” Mossop is the lazy, elderly farm cat who seems to sleep all day long. The farm suddenly becomes infested with mice and Farmer Rafferty feels that Mossop is not doing his job properly so gives him an ultimatum where he has to catch 26 mice within a certain time or he has to go.
Mossop searches high and low to no avail so all the other animals join together to help him out indicating that this is a story about friendship and team work as well as solving problems.
The second story centres on Albertine, the clever goose, who lives on an island in the middle of the pond.
A hunt is nearing Mudpuddle Farm so all the animals stay safe in their habitats, well out of the way of danger, keeping themselves safe as they are afraid of the nasty fox who is on the rampage searching for any of the farm animals to take home to his family for supper. Apart from Albertine, who sits perched in her usual spot and treats the day like any other one. Albertine’s cleverness seems to be evident in this episode. This book could certainly be used to support the science curriculum, “Animals & their Habitats.”
This book is about family and the close-nit household who live on Mudpuddle Farm. The book is set out using a comic strip format where all the animals talk to each other with the use of speech bubbles and would support literacy work. It would also be ideal for the lower level achievers as it is easy to read which will help when learning how to structure sentences.
If I had to give this book a rating I would reward it with a star rating of 4 out of 5 as it was a book that made me laugh from beginning to end.
It will have everyone in hysterics all the way along. The illustrations by Shoo Rayner will have everybody laughing as every animal seems to have a different facial expression on every page. I particularly found the picture of Diana (the silly sheep) and the hounds cramming through the gate extremely amusing.
There are two short stories in this book and they are set on Mudpuddle Farm. You will get to find out about all the characters that live there as well.
The first story is called, “Mossop’s Last Chance.” Mossop is the lazy, elderly farm cat who seems to sleep all day long. The farm suddenly becomes infested with mice and Farmer Rafferty feels that Mossop is not doing his job properly so gives him an ultimatum where he has to catch 26 mice within a certain time or he has to go.
Mossop searches high and low to no avail so all the other animals join together to help him out indicating that this is a story about friendship and team work as well as solving problems.
The second story centres on Albertine, the clever goose, who lives on an island in the middle of the pond.
A hunt is nearing Mudpuddle Farm so all the animals stay safe in their habitats, well out of the way of danger, keeping themselves safe as they are afraid of the nasty fox who is on the rampage searching for any of the farm animals to take home to his family for supper. Apart from Albertine, who sits perched in her usual spot and treats the day like any other one. Albertine’s cleverness seems to be evident in this episode. This book could certainly be used to support the science curriculum, “Animals & their Habitats.”
This book is about family and the close-nit household who live on Mudpuddle Farm. The book is set out using a comic strip format where all the animals talk to each other with the use of speech bubbles and would support literacy work. It would also be ideal for the lower level achievers as it is easy to read which will help when learning how to structure sentences.
If I had to give this book a rating I would reward it with a star rating of 4 out of 5 as it was a book that made me laugh from beginning to end.
June 12, 2016
Michael Morpurgo's telling of a story set in possibly Turkey or Iran, this is a lovely traditional tale with plenty of repeating language, humour and classic good vs evil, rags to riches elements to it. I like Morpurgo's writing style here and think he captures the essence of what makes fairy tales so memorable. He doesn't waste time on description or characterisation and makes it clear that those who are wealth sit fat on their greed whereas those who are good shall be rewarded. What makes this a slightly more interesting tale to others is that the hero is a rooster rather than a human. I think this twist will be appealing to the child reader and they will also enjoy the idea of the huge Sultan getting his comeuppance.
April 3, 2011
Two cute little farm animal stories, conveying a message about the importance of friendship, accompanied by great illustrations, will make this book a definite winner among our youngest readers!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews