Michael Morpurgo, began writing stories in the early '70's, in response to the children in his class at the primary school where he taught in Kent. After the success of War Horse my local theatre had an upcoming production of this Morpurgo classic. Join our community to get personalised book suggestions, extracts straight to your inbox, 10% off RRPs, and to change children’s lives.

The hint at the depression of Bertie's mum is explored through a child's eyes, seeing his mum unhappy, inactive and experiencing mood swings.It takes you on a rich journey of adventure,loneliness,loss,sadness,hope,love,friendship,determination and joy. Many years later, a school-boy discovers the answer, when he sees another lion, on the side of a hill in England.

I found it particularly popular with the boys, given it's themes of boarding school; wild outback country; tree climbing; and war. While I wouldn't say this is an exciting book is covers a lot of exciting issues and keeps readers with a variety of interest hooked.

The whole family will be enthralled by its powerful and gripping story and will weep and cheer by turns.

Bertie escapes from his school and meets Millie, and the two become fast friends, flying kites together. The tale follows the young boy who meets a number of people, the most important of which is an old lady who tells the boy a story of her (and her husbands) life, this is where the lion also comes in to it.

The book ends up in a magical way, but now I am not going to tell you, so you have to read this book and find the ending out! Bertie is a lonely little boy in South Africa who one day adopts an orphaned white lion cub, who then becomes his best friend.

The blurb on the back of the book has a quote from Bertie: “All my life, I’ll think of you, I promise I will. The book is full of descriptive writing and emotion that pulls you into the book and allows you to feel like you are actually there. The contrast of loneliness and companionship, of the horrors of war and the joys of love and friendship are, in my opinion, what make his stories stick. He threw open the gate, and charged down the hill towards the water hole, yelling and screaming, and waving his arms like a wild thing. It deals with loneliness and love, courage and success against all the odds and revolves around friendship, loyalty and, as is so often the case with Morpurgo, the backdrop is the Great War.We are opposite sides of the same coin and, although his work has never influenced mine, I admire the eloquent, considered voice of his best books. I can see why they opted to also tell this story on stage, it has all the hallmarks of a great story that appeals to people of all ages. Michael Morpurgo appeared on the map for me after I first saw the movie and then read the book War Horse. How the story of the two ends, how the old woman comes to know of it, and how all of it ties back into WW1, you'll have to discover for yourselves.