The Great War: Stories Inspired by Items from the First World War
David Almond · John Boyne · A. L. Kennedy · Adèle Geras · Marcus Sedgwick · Michael Morpurgo · Sheena Wilkinson · Tanya Lee Stone · Timothée de Fombelle · Tracy Chevalier · Ursula Dubosarsky
Apr 2015 · Brilliance Audio · Narrated by Nico Evers-Swindell, JD Jackson, Gerard Doyle, Nick Podehl, Richard Halverson, and Sarah Coomes
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6 hr 22 min
Unabridged
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About this audiobook
In a powerful collection, eleven internationally acclaimed fiction writers draw on personal objects to bring the First World War to life for listeners of all ages.
A toy soldier. A butter dish. A compass. Mundane objects, perhaps, but to the remarkable authors in this collection, artifacts such as these have inspired stories that go to the heart of the human experience of World War I. Each author was invited to choose an object that had a connection to the war—a writing kit for David Almond, a helmet for Michael Morpurgo—and use it as the inspiration for an original short story. What results is an extraordinary collection, illustrated throughout by the award-winning Jim Kay and featuring photographs of the objects with accounts of their history and the authors' reasons for selecting them. A blend of fiction and real-life events, this unique anthology provides young readers with a personal window into the Great War and the people affected by it, and serves as an invaulable resource for families and teachers alike.In a powerful collection, eleven internationally acclaimed fiction writers draw on personal objects to bring the First World War to life for listeners of all ages.
A toy soldier. A butter dish. A compass. Mundane objects, perhaps, but to the remarkable authors in this collection, artifacts such a...
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About the author
Acclaimed Irish novelist John Boyne was born in Dublin, Ireland on April 30, 1971. He studied English Literature at Trinity College, Dublin and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. He has written dozens of short stories and many novels, including the New York Times bestseller The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. An award-winning film adaptation of this work was released in 2008. In 2015 his title, A History of Lonelines made The New Zealand Best Seller List.
A. L. Kennedy lives in Glasgow, Scotland.
British author Michael Morpurgo was born in St. Albans, Hertforshire in 1943. He attended the University of London and studied English and French. He became a primary school teacher in Kent for about ten years. He and his wife Clare started a charity called Farms for City Children. They currently own three farms where over 2000 children a year stay for a week and experience the countryside by taking part in purposeful farmwork. He has published over 100 books and several screenplays. He won the 1995 Whitbread Children's Book Award for The Wreck of the Zanzibar, the 1996 Nestle Smarties Book Prize for The Butterfly Lion, and the 2000 Children's Book Award for Kensuke's Kingdom. Private Peaceful won the 2005 Red House Children's Book Award and the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award. Five of his books have been made into movies and two have been adapted for television. He was named as the third Children's Laureate in May 2003.
Tracy Chevalier was born on October 19, 1962 in Washington, D.C. After receiving a B.A. in English from Oberlin College, she moved to England in 1984 where she worked several years as a reference book editor. Leaving her job in 1993, she began a year-long M.A in creative writing at the University of East Anglia. She is the author of several novels including The Virgin Blue, Burning Bright, Remarkable Creatures, and The Last Runaway. Her novel Girl with a Pearl Earring was made into a film starring Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson.
Tanya Lee Stone studied English at Oberlin College and was an editor of children's nonfiction for many years. She also has a Masters Degree. She teaches writing at Champlain College. After many years as an editor. Tanya moved to Vermont and returned to writing. This award-winning author has written titles that include the young adult novel, A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl, Up Close: Ella Fitzgerald, picture books Elizabeth Leads the Way, Sandy's Circus, and Who Says Women Can't Be Doctors? She has also written narrative nonfiction with her titles: Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream, and The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie. In 2014 her title, Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, made The New York Times Best Seller List.
Ursula Dubosarsky was born in Ursula Coleman, Sydney, in 1961. She is an Australian writer of fiction and non-fiction for children and young adults, whose work is characterised by a child's vision and voice. She has won nine national literary prizes, including five New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards. She is the author of illustrated books and novels, and also three works of non-fiction about the English language, grammar and etymology for children, featuring a comically enthusiastic character known as "The Word Spy". These "Word Spy" books, illustrated by Tohby Riddle, have won the New South Wales Premier's Literary Award, the Children's Book Council of Australia Junior Judges' Award and Book of the Year Award. In the United States and Canada "The Word Spy" is published under the title "The Word Snoop. Three of her books have been adapted for theatre - "The Red Shoe", "The Terrible Plop" and "Too Many Elephants In This House". She is a Hans Christian Andersen Award Nominee and a Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Nominee.
Nick Podehl is from Michigan. He has narrated many young adult, fantasy and romance titles including Bayou Dogs by Tony Abbott, Black Hills by Nora Roberts, and Girl Missing by Tess Gerritsen. He has appeared in a number of theatrical productions and independent films.
Acclaimed Irish novelist John Boyne was born in Dublin, Ireland on April 30, 1971. He studied English Literature at Trinity College, Dublin and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. He has written dozens of short stories and many novels, including the New York Times bestseller The Bo...
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