The Fox and the Ghost King by Michael Morpurgo and Michael Foreman
| The Fox and the Ghost King by Michael Morpurgo and Michael Foreman | |
|
| |
| Category: Confident Readers | |
| |
Reviewer: John Lloyd
 | |
| Summary: A souvenir of one of the world's most extraordinary underdog stories. | |
| Buy? Maybe | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 144 | Date: September 2016 |
| Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 9780008215774 | |
|
Share on: | |
|
| |
Considering how bizarre the stories in juvenile literature can sometimes be, it's weird to think that occasionally it's the actual source material that inspired it that is even more unusual. Whoever would really credit writing a book where footballing underdogs, and firm favourites to be relegated, defied odds of 5000 to 1 to win the Premiership? But that's what happened in the 2015/16 season, in a certain town in the East Midlands of England. Despite every worry directed their way, they sustained their fine form long enough to win the league, in a run that some people soon realised had started when said city had had another momentous event, namely holding the proper burial accorded a lost King of England. Like I say, completely unusual and unexpected events – surely too odd to be turned into fiction?
Michael Morpurgo has certainly tried his best to get a book out of those events, even if he is a mere Fulham FC fan. Within days of the season being finished, he recorded a 6-minute reading of his tale for the BBC, which is still online. This is the full piece, however, albeit one that can still be read aloud in under half an hour. 'Fox', originally a single female member of the species, is a boisterous cub now, a Master Fox, who follows his father around all the more select dustbins to 'hunt' takeaway leftovers, and even to the home matches where all the Foxes fans suffer defeat after defeat. They're hunting worms and things they dig up, with the help of an excavation in a car park, when they hear a disembodied voice – that of the remains of Richard III. When Richard has finished haranguing the animals, and moaning about Shakespeare unjustly doctoring his reputation, he urges help in being located. The cunning Mister Fox decides payment will be the footballers winning everything, and… well, we know the result.
And that is part of the problem. The background to the story is so well-known, and actually proves to be all the plot. Sure, there are bits to the piece I haven't conveyed, but not many. I certainly liked the character of the foxes, and I suppose of Richard as well, but there's very little else to enjoy. This version of the story is just the weave of the King's being found with the fantasy of how the football team managed to win, and no more. The King gets a happy ending, the foxes get what they wished for, and fairness and kind heart is also included in the conclusion, but that can't hide the fact the book is just a single cause and effect pairing. It’s the dramatization of a coincidence; an extended vignette.
Perhaps, however, I'm coming down too hard on the book, for obvious reasons – I am a Leicester resident, after all; I saw the King's coffin laying in state not once, but twice, and was sweating every awkward moment of that incredible season. I know the footballing story inside and out, and have read other books about it (including a fully novelty one, allegedly written entirely by the King himself). That advantage is probably not afforded the young people to whom this is targeted, and there is character enough on these pages to appeal, from both the anthropomorphised foxes and the wonderful, lively artwork (even though Michael Foreman is a mere Chelsea fan). I still suspect that young audience will see the mystical side of events here as an inferior front to the near-miraculous reality.
I must thank the publishers for my review copy.
More nocturnal animals causing the unexpected can be had with The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots by Beatrix Potter and Quentin Blake.
Please share on: 
Facebook, 
Twitter and
Instagram
You can read more book reviews or buy The Fox and the Ghost King by Michael Morpurgo and Michael Foreman at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy The Fox and the Ghost King by Michael Morpurgo and Michael Foreman at Amazon.com.
Comments
Like to comment on this review?
Just send us an email and we'll put the best up on the site.
