The Wreck of the Zanzibar

Laura Perryman's family has always lived on Bryher. But the tough lifestyle is about to get tougher… Laura Perryman's family has always lived on the tiny island of Bryher. She lives with her twin brother, Billy, her mother and father, and her Granny May. They have four milking cows,enough to keep the entire population of the island supplied with milk, and the islanders feed themselves from the sea. It is a hard life, and Billy, fourteen years old and bored with the unending milking routine, is feeling the strain. So, when the General Lee bound for New York calls at St Mary's for repairs Billy secures his passage as a cabin boy. He has left the islands before his parents know anything about it, and Laura is devastated to have lost her twin brother. Things go from bad to worse, and when ill fortune besets the island, families start to drift away from Bryher… In this bestselling book, Michael Morpurgo, the Sunday Times bestselling author, takes us on an adventure that is both heart-wrenching and thrilling. The action-packed narrative and the vivid depiction of life on Bryher make it a top pick for children and juvenile readers alike. For fans of Philip Pullman (The Firework Maker's Daughter), Katherine Rundell (The Wolf Wilder), Louis Sachar (Sideways Stories From Wayside School), Dick King-Smith (The Fox Busters), and Elizabeth Laird (Welcome to Nowhere).