Why the Whales Came

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Together Birdman and the children stop them killing the narhwals, and turn the whales back out to sea. First of all, Gracie doesn't want to know the Birdman, scared the rumours are true, not only about the Birdman, but about Samson too. They build up a lovely friendship with him, but when the children get stranded on Samson Island, they don’t know whether to believe the birdman’s story that the island is cursed. I was still fond of this book though and found it being a page turner once you got to the interesting parts of the book.

Why the Whales Came by Michael Morpurgo | Teaching Resources Why the Whales Came by Michael Morpurgo | Teaching Resources

When he is talking, one of his friends notices that in the sea there are many more of these creatures. Suitable for children working towards/at the expected standard in Y5/6, the questions are closely linked to the National Curriculum and therefore adequately develop their comprehension skills. I'm not eight anymore, so although I could remember the parts that I had found very moving when I was small, they don't quite do it for me anymore. By providing a contextual explanation rather than just a standard definition, we can better help children understand the stories we are sharing with them and widen their vocabulary.

I also liked how the book was set during the war as it showed how bad the war was and because in class we had been learning about World War One and now I knew a little about World War Two. The skin was creased but still young and suppple-not that you could see much of his face for it was almost entirely hidden by a head and beard of wild white hair. I enjoyed reading it in class, but didn't appreciate how the complexity of the story or even how beautifully it is written. Set against the backdrop of the First World War, in the tradition of Friend or Foe and Private Peaceful, Michael Morpurgo brings the emotional reality of conflict to life in a way that is accessible to younger readers. Join our community to get personalised book suggestions, extracts straight to your inbox, 10% off RRPs, and to change children’s lives.

Why the Whales Came - Michael Morpurgo Why the Whales Came - Michael Morpurgo

This is classic Morpurgo territory – a story very much close to nature, set in the Scilly Isles around the time of the Great War – against the backdrop of a way of life largely for the most part now no longer with us.

A terrific page-turner set during World War One in which two children befriend a man who lives alone on an island in the Isles of Scilly. He sits outside the series-driven blockbusters so beloved of publishers nowadays: he hasn't created a Harry Potter or an Alex Rider – and I admire him for resisting that. Morpurgo added: “Storymakers and storytellers like Barrie, and like all the previous winners of this award, have given us the hope and faith children need, we need, to keep flying, have sustained us through dark and troubled times, have banished doubt.