Singing for Mrs. Pettigrew: Stories and Essays from a Writing Life by Michael Morpurgo, illustrated by Peter Bailey Ages 10+ 272 pages Candlewick October 2009 Hardcover     Author and former Children’s Laureate of Britain Michael Morpurgo gives readers this volume of short stories and essays that open a window to his life and the reason behind many of his writings. “Meeting Cezanne” is a story about the young author encountering a great master while visiting his Aunt Mathilde. The story explains how undiscovered painters often worked and made their living before they became famous. The end of the tale brings an interesting twist that will delight the reader. The story of Cherry and her commitment to make a giant’s necklace from cowrie’s shells she has collected on the beach is a sad tale with a predictable but unsatisfactory ending. As the storm rolls in, Cherry protects her bag of shells and makes her way over the rocks back to the safety of the beach. Her need to complete this project will come at a great cost to her family. The tale of the father whose children only know him as a polar bear is an amusing interpretation of a young child’s imagination and understanding. Although he truly is a polar bear, he is also a loving but absent father. As the children age, they are able to reevaluate their understanding and develop a greater appreciation for their father and his love for them. The title story of Mrs. Pettigrew is a tale of happenstance. The challenge of a bully, the presence of a thorn bush and the sympathetic demeanor of a lady who lives in a railway car alone are not unusual events, but taken together they become a great story to tell again and again. Mrs. Pettigrew, living with her dogs and a donkey, is a monument to her one true love. A mystery to everyone who lives around her, Mrs. Pettigrew teaches one young man that we are all more alike than we are different. In his introduction, Morpurgo states that he has often been asked to “explain himself” and that this is his attempt. Scattered among the stories are essays that give the reader a better understanding of what it is to be a writer, whether of prose or poetry.     web reviews   Joyce Rice/2010 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)