Alone on a Wide Wide Sea - Softcover

Morpurgo, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007230583 ISBN 13: 9780007230587

Publisher: HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks, 2007

Synopsis

How far would you go to find yourself? The lyrical, life-affirming novel from the bestselling author of Private Peaceful and War Horse.

There were dozens of us on the ship, all up on deck for the leaving of Liverpool, gulls wheeling and crying over our heads, calling good-bye...
That is all I remember of England.

When six-year-old orphan Arthur Hobhouse is shipped to Australia after WWII he loses his sister, his country and everything he knows. Overcoming enormous hardships with fellow orphan Marty, Arthur is finally saved by the extraordinary people he meets and by his talent for boat-design and sailing. Now he has built a special boat for his daughter Allie – a solo yacht designed to carry her to England in search of his long-lost sister. Will the threads of Arthur's life finally come together?

I was there on the quayside to see Allie take her out for the first time, saw her dancing through the waves, and I knew I'd never built a finer boat.

About this title

Review:

"Lyrical and moving, it is one of the former Children's Laureate's best books for years." Amanda Craig, The Times

"His best book in years... I was completely hooked." Kate Kellaway, The Observer Review

"A powerful story." The Guardian Children's Books Supplement

‘Executed with Morpurgo’s distinctive flair. His language remains beautifully clean and clear.’ Waterstone’s Books Quarterly

"[A] very satisfying read... The masterful writing makes the characters come to life on the page... I'm recommending this to adult friends as well as teenagers." Books for Keeps

"Michael Morpurgo strikes gold... this is a life-rewarding novel." Angels & Urchins

"This is storytelling at its best." Primary Times

"Incredibly moving, harrowing and completely unputdownable. A first class story that brings history alive." My Child magazine

"Completely unputdownable." Families Magazine

From the Back Cover:

'There were dozens of us on the ship, boys and girls. We were off to Australia. But it might as well have been the moon.'

Orphaned in WWII, Arthur is separated from his sister and sent to the other side of the world. There his extraordinary journey continues as he and his friend Marty survive brutal captivity on a working farm, find a new family with the eccentric Aunty Meg and her animals, and discover their talent for designing yachts.

Sixty years later, Arthur's daughter Allie sets sail single-handed in a yacht designed by her father, determined to find his long-lost sister in England. Can family love stretch across time and the vastness of the oceans? And will the threads of Arthur's life finally come together?

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0007230583
• ISBN 13: 9780007230587
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320