Long Way Home

Michael Morpurgo

Twelve-year-old George is sent to his seventh foster home, down on the Dyers' farm this time. He's dreading it. He bitterly used to the routine: getting stared at, feeling different, all the questions. This family seem to be different - a wayward cow introduces him to the children, Tom and the non-stop talker Storme, and George enjoys his first day on the farm. By night, he's still determined to run back to the Children's Home, but in a sudden storm he's needed to help save the cow he met that morning. Tom guesses George's plans and asks him to stay. In the next few weeks the children work on the farm together, and George is taught to swim in a nearby river. But one day George and Storme get caught in the mist while walking on the moors. When they find them, Mrs Dyer has to carry Storme home and in doing so hurts her back badly enough to have to go into hospital. The family cannot run the farm on their own, and despite the Tom and Storme's best efforts, George has to go back to the Home. George is devastated, and determines to run again, this time back to his foster family, not away from them. Arriving after a difficult journey, he's delighted to find Mrs Dyer is home and recovering, and the Dyers want to take him into their family for good.