When Fishes Flew: The Story of Elena’s War
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-03-10 06:52:01
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Michael Morpurgo
- ISBN：0008352194
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
This first new novel in two years from the Nation’s Favourite Storyteller is a sweeping story of love and rescue – an unforgettable journey to the Greek island of Ithaca， and back in time to World War Two…
Australian-Greek girl Nandi travels to her ancestors’ home in Ithaca， and discovers – through a friendship with an extremely unusual flying fish – the extraordinary story of her great-aunt Elena; of how she fell in love， in the hardest of times， and how of how she became an unsung hero of World War Two。
But Elena has gone missing， and Nandi has to find her。 In her search， she will discover that Elena was an even greater hero than she thought – and still is…
Nandi’s story is a beautiful and inspiring tale of personal discovery， of love and place and belonging， threaded through with the quiet heroism of everyday people。 Stunningly illustrated throughout by acclaimed artist George Butler， and full of magic， myth and mystery， it is a classic Morpurgo novel that will move and thrill every reader who loved Private Peaceful and War Horse and combines all the hallmarks of this beloved Master Storyteller。
Australian-Greek girl Nandi travels to her ancestors’ home in Ithaca， and discovers – through a friendship with an extremely unusual flying fish – the extraordinary story of her great-aunt Elena; of how she fell in love， in the hardest of times， and how of how she became an unsung hero of World War Two。
But Elena has gone missing， and Nandi has to find her。 In her search， she will discover that Elena was an even greater hero than she thought – and still is…
Nandi’s story is a beautiful and inspiring tale of personal discovery， of love and place and belonging， threaded through with the quiet heroism of everyday people。 Stunningly illustrated throughout by acclaimed artist George Butler， and full of magic， myth and mystery， it is a classic Morpurgo novel that will move and thrill every reader who loved Private Peaceful and War Horse and combines all the hallmarks of this beloved Master Storyteller。
Reviews
Grace
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Started reading this book and finished it in a day。 This is such a good book and an easy read。 Sad bits a times but overall a happy and joyfull book。 I really like how this book is written and would really recommend。 Overall I would rate it a Five star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐！！
Amber
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Nice imagery of Greece。
Anna Davidson
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A lovely story about discovering a hidden story from your family’s history。 This short book with its beautiful description of the Greek islands and an element of fantasy with the inclusion of Greek mythology make it a great read for less confident readers in upper primary。 With World War 2 history as one of the main themes， the story also touches on the current refugee situation in Europe。
Hwee Goh
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In true form， UK Children’s Laureate Michael Morpurgo brings us another middle grade historical fiction title — this time set， throughout the history of Greece from WW2。Growing up in Australia， Nandi （actually Amanda） has loved visits from Aunt Ellie， all the way from Ithaca in Greece。 She loved especially all her Greek stories， of Odysseus and of Proteus and all the islands she learnt by heart。When Aunt Ellie becomes too old to travel round the globe to visit anymore， Nandi makes it her single In true form， UK Children’s Laureate Michael Morpurgo brings us another middle grade historical fiction title — this time set， throughout the history of Greece from WW2。Growing up in Australia， Nandi （actually Amanda） has loved visits from Aunt Ellie， all the way from Ithaca in Greece。 She loved especially all her Greek stories， of Odysseus and of Proteus and all the islands she learnt by heart。When Aunt Ellie becomes too old to travel round the globe to visit anymore， Nandi makes it her single objective to study， graduate， and make her way to Ithaca instead。 She’s helped along by a flying fish she meets first in Australia， and then later on the shores of Ithaca。Morpurgo weaves in the story of Elena’s War， of how Aunt Ellie， too， is a true hero。 She joins the resistance when Greece is first infiltrated by the Italians and then the Germans。 And how she meets her true love， and devastating heartbreak。 The Syrian refugee crisis， also comes into play， by virtue of Greece’s proximity to it and Morpurgo again， gives us a front seat to our own history。“…nothing in the world matters more than the lives of children， and that it was the right of every child to have a family， to belong， that to live unwanted in this world， especially when they have seen what had seen， was wrong， simply wrong。”Morpurgo is a master at storytelling and is an author I feel， most of us should read at least once。 I’ve loved so many of his WW2-related titles， but he’s also continued to write stories around real-life events in history such as the Afghan war and the Asian tsunami。 Thank you， @times。reads for sending me this ❤️ 。。。more
Raeesa Saint
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3。5 stars。Thanks to Jonathan Ball Publishers for sending me a free review copy of this book。 All opinions are my own。 When Fishes Flew follows Nandi and her dream to visit Ithaca， where her great aunt lives。 Once she arrives， she finds that her aunt is missing。 While she is heartbroken， her journey becomes more interesting when she comes across a talking flying fish。 This fish proceeds to tell her all about her aunt’s life。 I was a big fan of Michael Morpugo’s work when I was younger， so I was e 3。5 stars。Thanks to Jonathan Ball Publishers for sending me a free review copy of this book。 All opinions are my own。 When Fishes Flew follows Nandi and her dream to visit Ithaca， where her great aunt lives。 Once she arrives， she finds that her aunt is missing。 While she is heartbroken， her journey becomes more interesting when she comes across a talking flying fish。 This fish proceeds to tell her all about her aunt’s life。 I was a big fan of Michael Morpugo’s work when I was younger， so I was eager to see what I though of his books as an adult。 I was not disappointed。 I read most of this in one sitting （the fact that it is so short and illustrated made this easier） and I was fully immersed in the world。 The addition of Greek mythology was a pleasant surprise， and I enjoyed the different narration styles。 We follow Nandi in the beginning as she explains her childhood and how her story came to be。 Then we read her diary， which has a choppier tone to it。 We also experience a lot of the story through the fish’s eyes。While this was a fun and entertaining read， I did feel like there was not really a point to the story。 It felt like it was trying to be impactful， when in reality I think I will forget most of it in a few days。 That being said， I do not think a book needs to have a strong point or message in order for it to be a good book， and I would certainly recommend this to anyone wanting to escape reality for a bit。 。。。more
Katy
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Considering the huge backlist of Morpurgos work and the reoccuring themes present in many of his books， this is a fresh new take for him and one I enjoyed immensely。 The story has a magcal realism aspect to it which I wasn't expecting and I loved all the classical and mythological greek aspects of it。 There are plenty of brilliant messages of kindness， hope and family between these pages and overall the story truly is very meaningful。 At first I was apprehensive due to the books short length but Considering the huge backlist of Morpurgos work and the reoccuring themes present in many of his books， this is a fresh new take for him and one I enjoyed immensely。 The story has a magcal realism aspect to it which I wasn't expecting and I loved all the classical and mythological greek aspects of it。 There are plenty of brilliant messages of kindness， hope and family between these pages and overall the story truly is very meaningful。 At first I was apprehensive due to the books short length but it really was the perfect amount of time to get to know these characters and experience their story。 The illustrations have an added charm about them and I am glad they were also included。 Definitely a book that is very atmospheric and one I think would be great read together， whether that is parents to children， in a class setting or just aloud to yourself。 The praise for this author really does stand true。 Highly recommend。 。。。more
Amelia
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If I were to describe this book in one word it would be sweet - this was just such a lovely story！ I loved the way this was told， part reflection as if we are being told it directly by the narrator Nandi， and then through diary entries as she is on the island。 The false biography element was really interesting and the character of Elena felt so vivid and clear。 The illustrations were such gorgeous enhancements alongside the story and the wee touch of magical realism was intriguing。 I could see c If I were to describe this book in one word it would be sweet - this was just such a lovely story！ I loved the way this was told， part reflection as if we are being told it directly by the narrator Nandi， and then through diary entries as she is on the island。 The false biography element was really interesting and the character of Elena felt so vivid and clear。 The illustrations were such gorgeous enhancements alongside the story and the wee touch of magical realism was intriguing。 I could see children absolutely adoring this story but I would also recommend it to adults too as a quick touching story to read。 Overall this was a gorgeous read and one I couldn’t put down - I had to know Elena’s story！ 。。。more
Aruna Kumar Gadepalli
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The book that talks about migrants， democracy， history， and fascination towards helping people。
Leanne
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Such a beautiful tale， I really enjoyed reading this book… made even more special that I’d seen Michael Morpurgo the previous week speaking for the first time about the novel。 As with all of his stories， there is a grain of truth in the tale and I found it simply spellbinding。 It has inspired me to read up more about the Greek gods now。
BooksForTopics
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With themes of love， travel， adventure， family and home and with links to Homer’s Odyssey， this book weaves together the story of two generations of adventurous women and makes you wonder just how much the machinations of the gods affect the course of history！ This story offers a brief history of Ithaca， from the Ancient gods and legendary tales through war and occupation， earthquakes， the Greek Military Junta， to the present-day refugee crisis。 We also learn of the beauty of the Island’s landsc With themes of love， travel， adventure， family and home and with links to Homer’s Odyssey， this book weaves together the story of two generations of adventurous women and makes you wonder just how much the machinations of the gods affect the course of history！ This story offers a brief history of Ithaca， from the Ancient gods and legendary tales through war and occupation， earthquakes， the Greek Military Junta， to the present-day refugee crisis。 We also learn of the beauty of the Island’s landscape and about aspects of music and culture on the island which are woven into the story。 For keen historians， it will give them the urge to pursue further knowledge about these periods in Greek history。Many thanks to the publisher for sending us an early copy for review。 This book is featured on our Autumn 2021 Ones to Watch selection: https://www。booksfortopics。com/post/o。。。 。。。more
Donna Burkert
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