Michael Morpurgo's Animals Book Tour - Born to Run #MorpurgosAnimals + Giveaway

Last week happened to include World Animal Day and in late celebration I have teamed up with nine other bloggers alongside author Michael Morpurgo to bring you activities and giveaways whilst also taking a look at some of Michael's best-loved animal stories.

My eldest daughter has the privilege of telling you more about the heart-warming tale that is Born to Run:

The bag wasn't just drifting gently along, it was turning of it's own accord. There was something inside it, squeaking and squealing in terror. Patrick didn't think about it. He shrugged off his school bag and leaped into the canal.

For Best Mate, being rescued from drowning as a young puppy is only the start of his adventures. From unwanted burden to favourite companion, and from pet to champion race dog, this remarkable greyhound proves that it's not just cats who have more than one life. Cast aside, kidnapped, adopted or living rough on the streets, Best Mate can always find a way to survive. But will he ever find a real home?

Here's a little of what she thought:

Born to Run is a beautiful book that addresses all sorts of issues in the world while bringing happiness to people as well. It is about a fawn greyhound who goes on three amazing journeys.

The first is when he is discovered with his siblings, abandoned in a bag on the river. He is rescued by a boy named Patrick who takes him home and names him Best Mate. Best Mate soon finds out that he is incredibly fast when he runs and that leads him to adventure two.

My favourite part of the book is with the character Becky because I feel it has the most depth. I love her because her courage is admirable. My favourite moment however is when our little doggy hero met Joe. It was a wonderful moment that bought a smile to my face!

Another good part of the story was actually the ending. It was one of those story moments you'll remember and grin when you think of it. It bought the novel to a satisfying close and let me put down the book with happy vibes.

Something I would like to point out about this book, it addresses all sorts of grave issues and whatever name our hero has, he brings light to all of them. Patricks saves the greyhound from abandonment, Becky is comforted by her comparison when she runs away and Joe has a friend to keep him going through his protest. It is amazing how much joy one dog can spread.

To conclude, this story should be on everyone's shelves, I recommend this to cheer up the blues and for all animal lovers everywhere.

Whilst my daughter read the story (which you can see she really enjoyed), she also came up with a question for Michael which was, "You've written a few books the include dogs before, what in particular inspired you to write about greyhounds in this book?". And in case you were wondering the same thing, here was his reply:

The idea for Born to Run actually came from an article I read in the newspaper about a man who, it was discovered, had over many years, shot over 10,000 grey hounds, and buried them in his field.  These were greyhounds not fast enough to race, or injured while doing so. The man had been paid to dispose of them.   I found this immensely heartless and cruel and was compelled to write my story. The other inspiration was my wife’s love of thin, fast dogs. We had whippets as pets for many years.

Now at the beginning of this post I promised you some activities, I have reading, sentence building and drawing, simply follow this link where you'll find a PDF that you can download and enjoy.

And if that wasn't good enough I also have a signed copy of Born to Run to give away to one lucky reader. All you have to do be in with a chance of winning is fill out the rafflecopter form below. This giveaway is open to UK residents only and will close at 11.59pm on the 29th October 2017. All entries will be checked and verified so make sure to enter correctly.

a Rafflecopter giveaway