As the enemy lurks in the darkness, Thomas struggles to stay awake through the night. He has lived through the terror of gas attacks and watched friends die by his side. But in the morning, Thomas will be forced to confront an even greater horror.

As the minutes tick by, Thomas remembers his childhood spent deep in the countryside with his mother, his brothers, and Molly, the love of his life. But each minute that passes brings Thomas closer to something he can't bear to to think about—the moment when the war and its horrific consequences will change his life forever.

From the Children's Laureate of England, a stunning novel of the First World War, a boy who is on its front lines, and a childhood remembered. Includes After Words bonus features.
As the enemy lurks in the darkness, Thomas struggles to stay awake through the night. He has lived through the terror of gas attacks and watched friends die by his side. But in the morning, Thomas will be forced to confront an even greater horror.
As the minutes tick by, Thomas remembers his childhood spent deep in the countryside with his mother, his brothers, and Molly, the love of his life. But each minute that passes brings Thomas closer to something he can't bear to to think about—the moment when the war and its horrific consequences will change his life forever.

Michael Morpurgo is one of Britain's best-loved children's book writers. He has written more than one hundred books and has won the Smarties Book Prize, the Whitbread Award, and the Blue Peter Book Award for “Private Peaceful”. Michael was writer-in-residence at the Savoy Hotel from January to April 2007, and previously he was Great Britain's Children's Laureate from 2003 to 2005, a role that took him across the country to inspire a love of reading in children.

Michael Foreman grew up in a small English fishing village and has loved the sea ever since. He has illustrated more than one hun