This story takes place in Clare, Ireland, where greedy developers want to destroy a small mountain looking for gold. Jessie is aided by a visiting American cousin - and the ghost of Grania O'Malley, a woman pirate.

Fiction spook-stories set around real 'haunted' places!!!So cool!I have only read one of the stories in this book and it is fabulous!

The book Waiting For Anya was very well written. It is a story about a boy named Jo who is a shepard in France during World War II. He finds out that an old widow who lives in his town (The "Black Widow") has, along with her son-in-law been hiding Jews from the Germans. The story gets complicated as twenty-two German soldiers move into Jo's village. Jo is swept up in the Jew's crisis and is determinded to help them escape. The story further unravels as Jo's father (a POW) comes home. Time is running out for the Jewish children. Jo's bravery, and the heartbreaking conclusion make this a wonderful book for people of all ages to read.

I first read this book when I was twelve, and I've picked it up nearly every year since then. It has unfortunately been deemed an "adventure" story, but it is not. Nor is it a Holocaust story. It is a novel that goes deep into the human condition and touches on aspects of friendship, death, love, growing up, and human decency. It is filled with characters who are real, characters who overlook their time and place, and ultimately sacrifice themselves for what they believe in. The book is sad but not morbid; poignant but not sentimental. I have gone on to read so many other books, but I have always come back to this one with a love and respect I have for few other books--children's or otherwise.

I have only cried while reading two books. This was one of them. Though about the Holocaust, this story is not a history lesson. But you do learn another side of a very complicated time period. The well-developed characters brought the story to life for me. I've read it many times and always find something new in each reading.

This book deals with incest between Arthur and his sister Margawse which produces Mordred. I do not concider this subject appropriate for children! I am disappointed because if the sexual content had been left out of this book it would have be an excellent book. I am glad I took the time to read before I gave it to my son to read!

This book is the best I'll probably ever read.I think the illustrations are excellent, and it's made an old story come to life. My favourite thing about the story is how it keep's popping up with new ideas, and how it goes in and out of him telling the story and the boy actually being there in the cave. My favourite character is Bercelet,I like the idea of him being Merlin's eyes and ears. I think it's a shame about Lancelot and King Arthur fighting and that Lancelot took Arthur's wife.It's brilliant! I look forward to reading more books by Michael Morpurgo.

i loved this book to the point i could not put it down

The Wreck of the Zanzibar

The Wreck of the Zanzibar takes place in the Scilly Isles,1907. Laura Perryman is the main character. She has a diary. Its not an everyday diary, she just writes down the good and bad events. Laura has a big twin brother named Billy. Later-on in the book Billy sails away with a man named Joseph Hannibal, to be a cabin boy on the General Lee. This is all because of a row with his father.
There is a massive storm and all the cows drown!This means no more milk or food!
There is another big storm and their are forced to leave Scilly.

I thought the book was exciting and interesting, because so much was happening! There are some sad bits in the story but don't let that put you off reading the book, because it is just great. The best bit is the happy ending - this is really, really, really GOOD! I think the age you shood start reading this book is at about seven and up.

The Wreck of the Zanzibar was very exciting. It had both fun parts and sad parts and I think it would be suitable for any age. The main characters were Laura and Billy, but in the middle of the story Billy goes away on a ship. This book made me feel happy at the end - there was also some funny bits in it.

This book is beautifully illustrated, however it is RUINED by the fact that the wombat at the end calls his Mum "Mom" (it would get 5 stars otherwise, the Wombat is my favourite "native"). If you're going to write a book on an Australian native mammal, at least give it a sense of authenticity and an Australian "accent". I picked it up at a local bookshop and almost flung it out of my hands when I saw that.

This is a sweet and simple story of a young Wombat searching for his mother. I read this book to my 5 and 7 year old girls. They enjoyed learning about the different Australian animals Wombat meets on his journey. The beautiful illustrations of Australian animals and the outback seem illuminated by a dusk glow of the sun - they make this book a treasure. They were intriguing to my girls. They made the world of the Australian outback seem lifelike and exciting. What a fun way for children to learn a little more about another part of the world.

I like the way the stories are broken up into 10-15 minute reads. This is perfect for bedtime reading, unfortunately, when I read this to my 5 year old son, I have to say that I've felt the need to skip over some parts of the stories due to their graphic nature. I imagine a 10 year old is more ready for dead rats but why change the plot so far away from the intentions of the classical writer?