Billy was once a champion soccer star, playing for Chelsea in the 1930s – before war broke out. Told through the voice of an 80-year-old man looking back on his life, Billy the Kid follows Billy from his days as Chelsea’s champion striker to the outbreak of war in 1939 and on through everything that followed. Joining Chelsea as a football apprentice, Billy rises through the reserves to become a genuine star, his passion for the game carrying him through the war years – he even organises a friendly match against the Italians while a prisoner of war. But after being injured by a mine, he can no longer play for Chelsea on his return to England, and turns instead to vagrancy and alcohol, drifting up and down the country for years. Eventually he settles in a derelict London house and is befriended by a family who move him into a shed in their garden. In turn, he helps their son with his football, and that boy grows up to become a Chelsea player himself. Billy ends his days as a Chelsea Pensioner, celebrating his 80th birthday when Chelsea play at home. A novel for children and adults alike that tackles some difficult issues with real sensitivity, Michael Morpurgo’s superb storytelling makes this a welcome follow-up to his earlier collaboration with Michael Foreman, Farm Boy.
ISBN 13: 9780007105472
Author: Michael Morpurgo
