The best Michael Morpurgo books, ranked<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Five to start with. I’ve put them in order, but honestly, the gaps between them are tiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. War Horse<\/h3>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ebookupload-1660132512348-195x300.jpeg\")
<\/div>War Horse<\/p>
Michael Morpurgo<\/span><\/span>Age 11<\/span><\/span>Friendship<\/span><\/div><\/div>›<\/span><\/a>\n\n\n\nJoey is a farm horse sold to the cavalry at the start of the First World War. He sees the fighting from both sides of the trenches, survives artillery and lost riders, and never stops looking for the boy he left behind on the farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The story is told by Joey himself, which sounds odd right up until you’re ten pages in and completely convinced. This is the famous one, and for the right reason. And I defy anyone to reach the last chapter dry-eyed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Best for 10 and 11 year olds, and fair warning, it doesn’t soften the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Kensuke’s Kingdom<\/h3>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1768205019_6964aadb770ae-195x300.jpg\")
<\/div>Kensuke’s Kingdom<\/p>
Michael Morpurgo<\/span><\/span>Age 11<\/span><\/span>Adventure<\/span><\/div><\/div>›<\/span><\/a>\n\n\n\nMichael disappears from his family’s boat the night before his twelfth birthday and washes up on a Pacific island. With no food or water, he curls up to die. When he wakes, someone has left him a plate of fish and fruit. He is not alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kensuke’s Kingdom is the Morpurgo that reads most like a pure adventure story, which is why it’s stood the test of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It also made our long car journey list<\/a>, where it can keep a back seat quiet for hours. Ages 9 to 11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n3. The Butterfly Lion<\/h3>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1773918206_69bbd7fe92dcf-200x300.jpg\")
<\/div>The Butterfly Lion<\/p>
Michael Morpurgo<\/span><\/span>Age 9<\/span><\/span>Animals<\/span><\/div><\/div>›<\/span><\/a>\n\n\n\nBertie rescues an orphaned white lion cub on the African veld, and the two are inseparable until Bertie is sent to boarding school in England and the lion is sold to a circus. He swears they’ll find each other again. The promise takes a lifetime to keep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Butterfly Lion is short enough to read in a weekend but is powerful enough to stay with you for years. We put it on our family read-aloud list<\/a> too. Lovely for 8 up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n4. Kaspar the Titanic Cat<\/h3>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ebookupload-1667511494195-199x300.jpeg\")
<\/div>Kaspar the Titanic Cat<\/p>
Michael Morpurgo<\/span><\/span>Age 9<\/span><\/span>Animals<\/span><\/div><\/div>›<\/span><\/a>\n\n\n\nJohnny Trott is a bellboy at the Savoy Hotel when a countess checks in with a cat called Kaspar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When tragedy strikes the countess, Kaspar becomes Johnny’s cat, and the pair end up crossing the Atlantic with a spirited young heiress on a magnificent new ship. The ship is called the Titanic. You can guess where this is heading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grand hotels, stowaways and a shipwreck. The one for 9 year olds who want the adventure without the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. Shadow<\/h3>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1737036861_6789143d53051-195x300.jpg\")
<\/div>Shadow<\/p>
Michael Morpurgo<\/span><\/span>Age 11<\/span><\/span>War<\/span><\/div><\/div>›<\/span><\/a>\n\n\n\nAman and his mother are sheltering in a cave in Afghanistan when a thin, war-ravaged springer spaniel appears at the entrance. Aman nurses her back to health and names her Shadow. When the family flee towards England, she is the reason they keep going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A refugee story with a dog at the heart of it, and it opens more conversations than most books manage. For thoughtful 10 and 11 year olds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If War Horse is the one they love<\/h2>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1770988568_698f2418d9cf0-196x300.jpg\")
<\/div>Farm Boy<\/p>
Michael Morpurgo<\/span><\/span>Age 11<\/span><\/span>Adventure<\/span><\/div><\/div>›<\/span><\/a>\n\n\n\nFarm Boy is the follow-on nobody tells you about. On a farm in Devon, fifty years after the war, Grandpa tells his grandson what happened to Joey when the fighting ended, along with a secret he’s kept his whole life. It’s short, illustrated by Michael Foreman, and best read after War Horse rather than before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The best Michael Morpurgo books for younger readers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Morpurgo for the 6 to 8 crowd works a bit differently. Shorter books, more pictures, smaller heartbreaks.<\/p>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ebookupload-1667417897337-244x300.jpeg\")
<\/div>This Morning I Met a Whale<\/p>
<\/div>War Horse<\/p>
Joey is a farm horse sold to the cavalry at the start of the First World War. He sees the fighting from both sides of the trenches, survives artillery and lost riders, and never stops looking for the boy he left behind on the farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The story is told by Joey himself, which sounds odd right up until you’re ten pages in and completely convinced. This is the famous one, and for the right reason. And I defy anyone to reach the last chapter dry-eyed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Best for 10 and 11 year olds, and fair warning, it doesn’t soften the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Kensuke’s Kingdom<\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>Kensuke’s Kingdom<\/p>
Michael Morpurgo<\/span><\/span>Age 11<\/span><\/span>Adventure<\/span><\/div><\/div>›<\/span><\/a>\n\n\n\nMichael disappears from his family’s boat the night before his twelfth birthday and washes up on a Pacific island. With no food or water, he curls up to die. When he wakes, someone has left him a plate of fish and fruit. He is not alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kensuke’s Kingdom is the Morpurgo that reads most like a pure adventure story, which is why it’s stood the test of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It also made our long car journey list<\/a>, where it can keep a back seat quiet for hours. Ages 9 to 11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n3. The Butterfly Lion<\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>The Butterfly Lion<\/p>
Michael Morpurgo<\/span><\/span>Age 9<\/span><\/span>Animals<\/span><\/div><\/div>›<\/span><\/a>\n\n\n\nBertie rescues an orphaned white lion cub on the African veld, and the two are inseparable until Bertie is sent to boarding school in England and the lion is sold to a circus. He swears they’ll find each other again. The promise takes a lifetime to keep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Butterfly Lion is short enough to read in a weekend but is powerful enough to stay with you for years. We put it on our family read-aloud list<\/a> too. Lovely for 8 up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n4. Kaspar the Titanic Cat<\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>Kaspar the Titanic Cat<\/p>
Michael Morpurgo<\/span><\/span>Age 9<\/span><\/span>Animals<\/span><\/div><\/div>›<\/span><\/a>\n\n\n\nJohnny Trott is a bellboy at the Savoy Hotel when a countess checks in with a cat called Kaspar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When tragedy strikes the countess, Kaspar becomes Johnny’s cat, and the pair end up crossing the Atlantic with a spirited young heiress on a magnificent new ship. The ship is called the Titanic. You can guess where this is heading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grand hotels, stowaways and a shipwreck. The one for 9 year olds who want the adventure without the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. Shadow<\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>Shadow<\/p>
Michael Morpurgo<\/span><\/span>Age 11<\/span><\/span>War<\/span><\/div><\/div>›<\/span><\/a>\n\n\n\nAman and his mother are sheltering in a cave in Afghanistan when a thin, war-ravaged springer spaniel appears at the entrance. Aman nurses her back to health and names her Shadow. When the family flee towards England, she is the reason they keep going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A refugee story with a dog at the heart of it, and it opens more conversations than most books manage. For thoughtful 10 and 11 year olds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If War Horse is the one they love<\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>Farm Boy<\/p>
Michael Morpurgo<\/span><\/span>Age 11<\/span><\/span>Adventure<\/span><\/div><\/div>›<\/span><\/a>\n\n\n\nFarm Boy is the follow-on nobody tells you about. On a farm in Devon, fifty years after the war, Grandpa tells his grandson what happened to Joey when the fighting ended, along with a secret he’s kept his whole life. It’s short, illustrated by Michael Foreman, and best read after War Horse rather than before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The best Michael Morpurgo books for younger readers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Morpurgo for the 6 to 8 crowd works a bit differently. Shorter books, more pictures, smaller heartbreaks.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>This Morning I Met a Whale<\/p>
<\/div>Kensuke’s Kingdom<\/p>
Michael disappears from his family’s boat the night before his twelfth birthday and washes up on a Pacific island. With no food or water, he curls up to die. When he wakes, someone has left him a plate of fish and fruit. He is not alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kensuke’s Kingdom is the Morpurgo that reads most like a pure adventure story, which is why it’s stood the test of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It also made our long car journey list<\/a>, where it can keep a back seat quiet for hours. Ages 9 to 11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Butterfly Lion<\/p> Bertie rescues an orphaned white lion cub on the African veld, and the two are inseparable until Bertie is sent to boarding school in England and the lion is sold to a circus. He swears they’ll find each other again. The promise takes a lifetime to keep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Butterfly Lion is short enough to read in a weekend but is powerful enough to stay with you for years. We put it on our family read-aloud list<\/a> too. Lovely for 8 up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kaspar the Titanic Cat<\/p> Johnny Trott is a bellboy at the Savoy Hotel when a countess checks in with a cat called Kaspar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When tragedy strikes the countess, Kaspar becomes Johnny’s cat, and the pair end up crossing the Atlantic with a spirited young heiress on a magnificent new ship. The ship is called the Titanic. You can guess where this is heading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grand hotels, stowaways and a shipwreck. The one for 9 year olds who want the adventure without the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shadow<\/p> Aman and his mother are sheltering in a cave in Afghanistan when a thin, war-ravaged springer spaniel appears at the entrance. Aman nurses her back to health and names her Shadow. When the family flee towards England, she is the reason they keep going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A refugee story with a dog at the heart of it, and it opens more conversations than most books manage. For thoughtful 10 and 11 year olds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Farm Boy<\/p> Farm Boy is the follow-on nobody tells you about. On a farm in Devon, fifty years after the war, Grandpa tells his grandson what happened to Joey when the fighting ended, along with a secret he’s kept his whole life. It’s short, illustrated by Michael Foreman, and best read after War Horse rather than before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Morpurgo for the 6 to 8 crowd works a bit differently. Shorter books, more pictures, smaller heartbreaks.<\/p>\n\n\n This Morning I Met a Whale<\/p>3. The Butterfly Lion<\/h3>\n\n\n
<\/div>4. Kaspar the Titanic Cat<\/h3>\n\n\n
<\/div>5. Shadow<\/h3>\n\n\n
<\/div>If War Horse is the one they love<\/h2>\n\n\n
<\/div>The best Michael Morpurgo books for younger readers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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