A reissue of a beautiful story for older readers in which bestselling author Dick King-Smith creates a fascinating picture of rural life at the time of the Second World War.
Discovered as a foundling in a lambing pen, Spider Sparrow grows up surrounded by animals. From sheep and horses to wild otters and foxes, Spider loves them all, even the crows he must scare away from the newly sown wheat. Crowstarving was the idea job for Spider - he was on his own, yet never alone for all around him were animals of one sort or another. Amazingly, every animal who meets Spider implicitly trusts the young boy. This magical rapport is Spider's unique gift, but nothing else in his tough life is so easy.
This book is part of a book series called Puffin .
There are 208 pages in this book. This book was published 2017 by Penguin Books Ltd .
Authors featuring on this anthology include Margaret Mahy, Allan Ahlberg, Dick King-Smith, Adele Geras, Michael Rosen, Linda Allen and Vivian French
This book contains the following story:
The Crowstarver
Spider Sparrow has always been different. Abandoned as an infant in a lambing pen and adopted by a kindly shepherd and his wife, Spiders life is unusual from the start. As he grows, it becomes clear that he is not like other children: he can't walk, talk, or learn like them. But Spider has a gift: he can imitate perfectly the sounds of animals, drawing them to him, soothing them. Spider amazes himself when he uses his gift to hand-feed a fox. He amazes others when he uses it to save a life. And while Spider's world is sometimes difficult, he lives each day with enthusiasm, joy, and courage. With rich, evocative detail,Dick King Smith depicts an English farming community before and during World War II and celebrates the mark one special boy makes on its inhabitants.
This book is in the following series:
Puffin
