WIN a library of Michael Morpurgo books for your school!
presents
SHADOW
www.michaelmorpurgo.com/ morpurgomonth
Never have Aman and his mother needed a friend more than when a springer spaniel appears – thin and warravaged – in the mouth of their Afghan cave. Aman and his mother are travelling from Afghanistan to England to escape the war there, using some money they have been sent by Aman’s uncle. However, the local police have taken all of their money and jewellery, leaving them with nothing. They have also shot at Shadow the dog when she tried to protect Aman and Mother, driving her away. Then Shadow returns: ‘At least,’ said Mother, ‘at least we have one friend left in this world. She has great courage, this dog. I was wrong about her. I think maybe this dog is not like other dogs. She may be a stranger, but as such we should welcome her, and look after her. She may be a dog, but I think she is more like a friendly shadow that does not want to leave us. You never lose your shadow.’ ‘That is what we should call her then,’ I told her. ‘Shadow. We’ll call her Shadow.’ It was strange. We had just lost all we had in the world, and only minutes before everything has seemed completely hopeless, but now that wagging tail of hers gave us new hope. I knew at that moment, that somehow we were going to find a way to get to England. Shadow was going to get us there. I had no idea how. But together, we were going to do it. Some way, somehow. Writing challenge Imagine that you are Shadow the dog. Tell the scene from your perspective, explaining why you came back to find Aman and his mother after being shot at, how you feel about seeing them again and how you feel about the future. Morpurgo masterclass Use Michael Morpurgo’s writing as a model for your own, thinking about: - Writing in the first person (I… we…) - Sharing your thoughts and feelings - Well-chosen vocabulary - Sentences of different lengths, as if you were speaking
Stuck for ideas?
Think carefully about how Shadow might view the situation? Would she understand everything that has happened? Would she know why some humans were kind and others were not? Try and express this in your writing. Turn over for writing space...
presents
Continue writing here...
SHADOW