A rich tapestry of moving memories of an 80 year old man, as he watches boys playing football in the park. As a skinny lad, Billy's life was centered around football. At 19 he scored goals for Chelsea. Then came World War 2 - and his life was never to be the same again.
"Foreman's shimmering watercolours and line, so agile and expressive, are a perfect match for Morpurgo's assured and memorable narrative. This is a book that will be treasured by any child or teacher learning about the Second World War."
Times Educational Supplement
". . . told with all the author's open-hearted clarity, and richly illustrated by Michael Foreman." The Guardian
"A story that combines football and war. It is a lot like an afternoon at Stamford Bridge, and ideal for football fans aged eight and over."
The Daily Telegraph
"If you just love good stories, stunning pictures and beautiful books, you'll want this book for your own."
Young Writer.
Michael Morpurgo on writing Billy the Kid . . .
Billy the Kid wasn't my idea. It was Michael Foreman's idea. He's the one who illustrated the
book – we've done about 20 books together now. He said: "Maybe you could write a story about football." I said: "I'm not that interested in football." "Why don't you come to London," he said, "and see Chelsea play at Stamford Bridge? There's something I want to show you. An idea for a story."
So I went – it was the first premiership match I've ever been too. An evening game, the noise thunderous, the colours bright, the atmosphere heady with the excitement. Zola was there. Desailley too. I missed the two goals Chelsea scored because everyone stood up, and they didn't do replays.
It was fun, interesting, but as a storyteller I wasn't exactly inspired. At half-time Michael pointed out the Chelsea Pensioners sitting up in the Director's Box in their scarlet uniforms. "They're old soldiers, They get free seats," he told me. "Tell me the story of one of them, how he's loved football all his life, how much it's meant to him, how much Chelsea has meant to him. Tell me his life story. Can you do that?" Now I was inspired.
So that's what I did.
I grew up just after the Second World War. I‘d heard the stories of soldiers coming home, the stories about some who didn't. I had two uncles who fought in the war. One was a pacifist until his younger brother was shot down and killed - he was 21. In my village in Devon there was a farmworker who had gone to fight in the war, in North Africa. He was captured and sent to a prisoner of war camp in Italy for 3 years. He escaped and came home.
These stories were all inside my head. In Billy the Kid they all came together, all linked by football, by Chelsea.
Copyright Michael Morpurgo 2007
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