Children's Books by Michael Morpurgo

Books by Michael Morpurgo are some of the most frequently read children's books in school libraries. Try finding a copy of Kensuke's Kingdom, War Horse or The Butterfly Lion and you are likely to be disappointed. These books are usually perpetually checked-out with a long waiting list of eager readers trying to get hold of them when they are returned. I have yet to come across a child who has not enjoyed atleast one title written by Michael Morpurgo. Most have enjoyed all of the Michael Morpurgo books they have read.

It is difficult to determine exactly waht it is about his writing that inspires children so much. Perhaps its the fact that his books seem so real. Often written in the first person, upon finishing the last page of his books, children are often left wondering if the events are true, or if the characters are based on real people. Perhaps its because the writing stikes the perfect balance between moving the action forward and conjuring telling images in the mind of the reader. Perhaps its because the storylines are so compelling. Or perhaps its just a mixture of all of the above. I know I enjoy reading Michael Morpurgo novels aloud, and I don't say that about many children's books. The tone of his books seems to be right. His stories, even the ones written recently, sound like classsic children's books, but without feeling out of date and old fashioned. When you read a children's book by Michael Morpurgo you know you are reading something worthwhile. His books are authentic and seem to have soul.

Some of the best know of Michael Morpurgo's books are: Kensuke's Kingdom, The Butterfly Lion, Adolphus Tips, War Horse, Farm Boy and The Wreck of the Zanzibar, but Morpurgo has written far more titles besides these. Any of these titles would be well worth a read.

Michael Morpurgo Books

There are numerous Michael Morpurgo books that are loved by children all over the world. His stories seem to stay with children and they are able to recall them in detail months and even years after they have finished them. Here follows a list of some of the books by Michael Morpurgo that I have seen children enjoy the most:

• The Butterfly Lion
• Cool!
• Friend of Foe
• Private Peaceful
• Tom's Sausage Lion
• The Sandman and the Turtles
• Torro Torro
• The Wreck of the Zanzibar
• War Horse
• Kensuke's Kingdom
• Farm Boy
• Adolphus Tips

My personal favourite Michael Morpurgo book is Kensuke's Kingdom. I enjoyed it because I really cared about the charcters. I loved the little details that made the story come to life - the scene with the turtles and how Kensuke's past is revealed. Without giving anything away, the book ends perfectly. It is completely satisfying and is the only way that the charcaters can act. It is a sad story, but also a story full of hope, friendship and spirit. I have read this book to lots of children and all of them have loved the book as much as I do. Lots of adults I know have also read this Michael Morpurgo novel, and they too have enjoyed it.

What's your favourite Michael Morpurgo story? Do you really like one from the list above, or would you recommend another Michael Morpurgo title? Do you prefer the work of a different writer of children's books? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

AKA Road Dahl, Roland Dahl and Roald Dhal

Although lots of children claim that Roald Dahl is their favourite author of children's books, they often don't know how to spell his name. This fact was really brought home to be a few weeks ago when I was doing some research on authors with a class of 9 year olds. When it came to type the words 'Roald Dahl' into the box in the search engine, I was really surprised at some of the names the children used. One child put in Road Dahl, another added Roland Dahl and another, Roald Dhal.

All three children had read several of Roald Dahl's children's books and they said they really enjoyed them.

Roald Dahl Children's Books

It always surprises me just how many classic children's books Roald Dahl was able to produce during his writing life. None of his books follow the same pattern or formula, yet so many of his novels remain popular to this day. I think the key to the success of all of the best Roald Dahl children's books is that they don't talk down to children. Instead, the child character is usually very capable and often undertakes an adventure that changes the lives of adults.

Roald Dahl is often criticised (by adults) of being crass, but I have only come across a few children who have failed to enjoy at least one Roald Dahl novel. Rather than finding his humour and take on the world to be out of kilter with their way of thinking, children seem to embrace Roald Dahl's irreverance, recognising a kindred spirit - a child in an adult's body.

From conversations I've had with children ranging from age 7 to age 11, these seem to be some of the most popular Roald Dahl books: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Twits, George's Marvellous Medicine, James and the Giant Peach, and Matilda. Lots of Roald Dahl's other stories are also mentioned, but these were the titles that cropped up again and again.

Many children also talked about enjoying the movie versions of some of the Roald Dahl stories. The Tim Burton version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Witches were particular favourites.

Some of those I spoke to also mentioned receiving books by Roald Dahl as gifts for either a birthday or Christmas. A really good way of giving such a present is to purchase a Roald Dahl collection or a Roald Dahl treasury. But I'm sure that even single volumes of Roald Dahl's books for children would go down a treat.

Roald Dahl Collection

A Roald Dahl collection – a box containing all of his most well-loved children’s books – would make a fantastic Christmas present or birthday gift. Last Christmas I purchased a Roald Dahl collection for one of my nephews. He absolutely loved it. Nearly a year has passed and he is still getting great pleasure from the gift. Not only does he enjoy reading these Roald Dahl books on his own, but he also looks forward to hearing these stories read to him at bedtimes. Of all the Roald Dahl books in the collection, his favourite novel was James and the Giant Peach, but he also really liked George’s Marvellous Medicine, Fantastic Mr Fox and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

I haven’t come across a child who hasn’t enjoyed at least one Roald Dahl story. Lots of adults can’t see the appeal, but they’re not meant to! Roald Dahl wrote the books for children, and it is children who adore his stories. The great thing about Roald Dahl books is that you can read them more than once. The stories are not ruined by knowing the endings.

There are several Roald Dahl collections on the market. Most contain about ten books. These are usually Roald Dahl’s most well-known stories. In addition to these novels mentioned above, the collections often contain: Danny the Champion of the World, The Twits, Esio Trot, The Witches, Matilda and The BFG.

Of course, you could always assemble your own Roald Dahl collection by purchasing your favourite Roald Dahl children’s books and presenting them in a box of your choice. However, this may work out more expensive than buying a ready made Roald Dahl collection.

So, if you can think what to buy for a child this Christmas, you could do a lot worse than getting them a Roald Dahl collection or a Roald Dahl treasury.

Facts About Roald Dahl Books

At Kids Book Zone we have produced several posts full of information about Roald Dahl, giving facts about his life and writing habits, but we have not yet focused on his books and his marvellous charcaters. Where, for instance, did the idea for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory come from? What inspired Roald Dahl to write about James and the Giant Peach? Where did Roald Dahl get his names from? All these questions (and lots more) will hopefully be answered below.

• Roald Dahl had started a third Charlie Bucket book, Charlie and the White House. Unfortunately he diead before finishing it. He was also planning to write a book about a girl who could communictae with her dog.
• It took Roald Dahl about one year to write each of his children's books.
• Roald Dahl used to test out his story ideas on his own children as bedtime stories.
• When Roald Dahl's nephew Nicholas first read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory he thought it was boring. After hearing this, Roald Dahl made some changes to his story!
• You never get to find out the names of the main characters in The Witches or The Magic Finger.
• When he was younger, Roald Dahl loved reading comics.
• Roald Dahl followed a rigid daily timetable. He would always eat breafast in bed and open his post. After that he would work at his books in his writing hut from 10:30 - 12:00, and again from 16:00 to 18:00.
• Roald Dahl never cleaned his writing hut. It became full of dust and spiderwebs.
• Esio Trot spells tortoise backwards.
• Roald Dahl was good friends with the creator of James Bond, Ian Fleming.
• Rolad Dahl made up 283 new words. Some of them appeared in The BFG, but not all of them made it.
• Roald Dahl's first children's book was called The Gremlins.
• Roald Dahl had an ideas book. He used to jot down all of his interesting thoughts in this book.
• Ernest Hemingway and Roald Dahl were good friends.
• James and the Giant Peach was nearly named James and the Giant Cherry. It was decided that a peach would be more juicy.
• The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl was first called The Almost Ducks.
• He used to plan the opening sentences to his book very carefully, often rewriting them over and over again until he was happy with them.
• Roald Dahl kept a diary in a lunchbox that was always locked and hidden.
• Roald Dahl often based his charcaters on people he had met, but he never revealed their identity.
• Roald Dahl thought that writing for really young children was hard.
• Roald Dahl used a homemade writing board. He rested it on his lap in his writing hut, and wrote most of his most well-known books upon it.