Author(s): Michael Morpurgo; Christian Birmingham (Illustrator)

Middle Fiction 8-12-year-olds

A moving story of a brother, a sister and a swallow, and how all are in some way victims of the horrors of landmines. Olly's brother Matt wants to go and work with children who have been made orphans, through war, in Africa. He wants to be a clown and make them laugh. His mother and sister want him to stay in England and go to university. Hero, a swallow, has a journey to make too. He must fly to Africa for the winter to join all the other swallows. His journey is difficult and fraught with danger. Three separate stories are woven into one powerful and moving novel whose central theme not only exposes the horrors of war and of landmines, but also the endurance of the human spirit.