The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips

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Sir Michael Morpurgo is one of Britain's best-loved writers for children. He has written over 100 books and won many prizes, including the Smarties Prize, Blue Peter Book Award and the Whitbread Award. His recent bestselling novels include Listen to the Moon, A Medal for Leroy and Shadow. His novel War Horse has been successfully adapted as a West End and Broadway theatre play and a major film by Steven Spielberg. A former Children's Laureate, Michael is also the co-founder, with his wife Clare, of the charity Farms for City Children.

Adolphus Tips is a book set in WW2. It is about a young girl, called Lily Tregenza, her cat called Tips and an American soldier called Adolphus. In the book, Lily and her family are forced to move away from their home because the American army are using her town for bomb practise as they need to prepare for invading France. However, during the move Lily’s cat has gone missing. When she goes to look for Tips, Lily is stopped by the army and told she needs to leave as her old home is now a dangerous place to be. Along the way, she meets the American soldier, Adolphus. They become good friends and despite her home being out of bounds, Lily and her new friend don’t give up and do all they can to find their beloved cat, Tips... Such a good review! You always make me want to read the books, Alex. I have to ask if you've discovered the Persephone books...women writers of the 1940's WWII and just after. They are fantastic. You can also read about his life in War Child to War Horse,a collaborative biography with Maggie Fergusson.The story of lily living her life during World War II intrigued me. Lily’s father is a soldier gone to war and she keeps a diary about what she gets up to, she then shares her childhood story with her grandson Boowie who she is very close to. Mi è piaciuto molto, l'ho trovato accurato, per nulla pesante o faticoso da leggere ma con quel tipico rigore storico che lo rende perturbante. A son and grandson of actors, Michael has acting in his blood and enjoys collaborating and performing live adaptations of his books at festivals, concerts and theatres.

I really enjoyed this book because it's full of action and anticipation. It's a book that you'll find hard to put down!

A tragic episode during the Second World War is the basis for this novel by the former Children’s Laureate. Michael Morpurgo is a master storyteller. This was such a simple story, and yet so compelling. I couldn’t recommend it more highly. It is a story is about love, friendship, helping each other and keeping promises. Lily is a typical kid, complaining to her diary about giving up her favorite candy for the war, sometimes forgetting to worry about her dad, giving her teacher a hard time ‘just because.’ But she is also kind, courageous and an adventurer, as her grandson already knows from experience. The diary dates were selected for a reason, beginning with the arrival of American soldiers and, with the exception of two later October entries, ending on June 6, 1944, D-day, the day Adie left Slapton with the US Army for the invasion of France.

Lo sbarco di Tips" ci aiuta a comprendere la vita di una bambina costretta a lasciare la sua casa insieme alla sua famiglia e possiamo solo immaginare quanto sia orribile. La fortuna della protagonista è avere qualcuno che le sta al fianco e che la ama incondizionatamente. Anche se sono lontani dalle loro cose materiali, non lo sono dai loro affetti. Penso che non ci sia cosa più importante.

The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips offers a wonderful window into the lives of what it may have been like for the people who were asked to give up everything and disrupt their lives for the war. The evacuation of Slapton was a real event, as was the torpedoing of the ships waiting to being the practice landings. 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. To touch the lives of children, to witness their listening and reading silence, is reward enough in itself. This is simply the icing on the cake.” Non lo consiglierei proprio a un bimbo di 10 anni, ma dai 12 in sù e credo sia adatto anche agli adulti, perchè il candore di Lily non impedisce comunque di comprendere gli orrori della guerra. This is the first of Michael Morpurgo’s books I have read, it’s actually my daughter’s book, but it has definitely made me want to read more. Lily’s grandfather flatly refuses to go. He hates the war, having served in the trenches of World War I and never got over what he had witnessed then. Even after most of the people are gone, he refuses to go. When Barry learns he can’t move with the family he is living with and ends up moving in with Lily’s family. Then Barry falls in love with the farm and his presence and enthusiasm seem to rejuvenate Lily’s grandfather.