Product Description

Life on the Sicily Isles in 1907 is bleak and full of hardship. Laura's twin brother, Billy, disappears, and then a storm devastates everything. It seems there's little hope... that is until the Zanzibar is wrecked on the island's rocks and everything changes.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7021 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 112 pages

About the Author
Former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo needs no introduction. He is one of the most successful children's authors in the country, loved by children, teachers and parents alike. Michael has written more than forty books and won the Whitbread Award, the Smarties Award, the Circle of Gold Award, the Children's Book Award and has been short-listed for the Carnegie Medal four times. His novels have been adapted for film (My Friend Walter, Why the Whales Came) and stage (including, Kensuke's Kingdom for the Polka Theatre and Why the Whales Came for Alibi). Michael received an OBE in December 2006 for his services to literature.

Customer Reviews

First, find out more about gigs.
First of all, you need to know that I'm a 48 year old male school-teacher. That might give you some idea of the impression that this book made of me, being moved to tears as I read the first few pages to my class. The story is written in the style of a diary; one that was written by young Laura Perryman on the tiny island of Bryher in 1908. In it, she keeps a record of the hardships faced by the family every day; how they face starvation, how they look out for shipwrecks as a source of unexpected bounty. It also tells the story of the gigs:- fast ocean going rowing boats, and how they raced to be the first to pilot a ship through the deadly waters of the Scilly Islands. A great book that has something to offer boys and girls.

Love it!
This book is mainly in the form of a diary. The first and last chapter are the only ones, which are not in the structure of diary. It is about a boy, called Michael (probably the author), who goes to his Great Aunt Laura's funeral in the Isles of Scilly. After the funeral, everyone goes back to her old little cottage to see what things she had left for them. Michael got her diary: it wasn't a proper diary that she wrote in everyday but only when something exciting happened. Find out what she wrote about in it and find out how the book got its title (The Wreck of the Zanzibar).
Michael Morpurgo, my favourite author, wrote this touching book full of both tears of joy and of sorrow. It is full of laughter, grief and a few escapes from boring boarding school. Another good quality of this book is that it is like Michael Morpurgo is recounting this event but I don't think this actually happened, (but I wish it had).
I think it was a wonderful book and I think anybody and absolutely everyone who loves foxes and other animals will enjoy it. Because of the book's brilliance, wonderfulness and the touch of love, I would really rate this book 100000000000/ 10.

It's a Fantasic book
This is the story of the young Laura Perryman who lived in Isles of Scilly in Brhyer. We have been reading this book as a whole class This book has a exciting story line, fast pace and has great description it is in 1st person so that it explains Laura's life Happy sad thoughts and feelings