Coming Home - by Michael Morpurgo (Hardcover)

About the Book

Longing carries a lone robin home for Christmas in a tender, universal tale that will resonate with families anticipating a joyful holiday reunion. Full color.

Book Synopsis

Longing carries a lone robin home for Christmas in a tender, universal tale that will resonate with families anticipating a joyful holiday reunion.

A plucky robin, lost and alone, sets out on an epic journey, guided only by a call in his heart saying "come home!" He wills his wings to beat faster, lifting him over great mountains and dark forests, through blinding blizzards and rolling fog, across the wide, wild sea. Can he find his way back to his family in time for Christmas? Combined with Kerry Hyndman's striking illustrations of the red-breasted bird against a sweeping, snowy terrain, Michael Morpurgo's poetic narrative will stir any reader who has ever yearned to reunite with loved ones or welcome them home.

Review Quotes

A robin travels alone for many miles to reach his mate by Christmas. In beautifully poetic language, Morpurgo portrays the urgency of the bird's longing to return home...A highly unusual picture book to satisfy the heart of anyone who enjoys making the natural world part of a Christmas celebration.
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

In this sophisticated story with a tangential holiday theme, understated text and art follow a Scandinavian robin on its annual Christmastime migration from its northern homeland to Britain...Digitally composed pictures by Hyndman (Survivors) feature a cool palette (save the robin's scarlet breast) and position crisp, lifelike images of birds against more abstract, loosely drawn natural backdrops.
--Publishers Weekly

The pictures, with varying perspectives, enable readers to more easily understand the hazardous conditions faced by the small bird. The robin's return home, which has been anticipated by more than just his mate, makes for a satisfying addition to holiday collections.
--Booklist

This poetic tale leads us on an amazing journey.
--Story Monsters Ink

About the Author

Michael Morpurgo is an Officer of the Order of the British Empire and a former U.K. Children's Laureate. He is the best-selling author of more than 130 books for children. He and his wife, Clare, started the charity Farms for City Children, which runs three farms in Great Britain, each offering children and teachers from urban primary schools the chance to live and work in the countryside for a week. Michael Morpurgo lives in Devon, England.

Kerry Hyndman is an illustrator and mapmaker. She has a degree in fine art from Newcastle University and an MA in illustration from Kingston University. She lives in London.