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The Fox and the Ghost King

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The Fox and the Ghost King by Michael Morpurgo

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By Michael Morpurgo

avg rating

210 reviews

A delightful tale of victory against all odds from master storyteller, Michael Morpurgo, lavishly illustrated by Michael Foreman.

“Every fox in the whole town, in the whole country just about, is a football fan… And we all have an impossible dream.” In a cosy den under a garden shed lives a family of foxes. They love to watch football – all foxes do. But their favourite team keeps losing and losing, and it seems like things will never look up. That is, until Daddy Fox finds the ghost of a king, buried underneath a car park. A king who wishes only to be free. “Release me,” says the Ghost King, “and I can do anything. Just tell me your greatest wish.” For these football-loving foxes, might everything be about to change…?

Reviews

25 Jun 2026

This is a great little book that covers lots of bases. The football interest is there and those who love animal stories will enjoy it - the foxes are full of cheeky character! I loved all the Shakespeare references and the way we're asked, as readers, to question the way Richard III has been presented to us. We all love an underdog story and they don't come better than Leicester City FC! A real winner from a great writer.

02 Jan 2026

I liked all of the foxes and everything in the story.

19 Aug 2024

I thought it was interesting how the foxes liked football so much. It was cool how there was a ghost king and how he could grant wishes like to help Leicester win the premier league.

14 Aug 2024

I liked the story and the illustrations in this book.

29 Jul 2024

I love because it uses please and thank you and it’s all about foxes being helpful. And I really like the Shakespeare play at the end.

28 Dec 2023

I liked this and would recommend it.

20 Oct 2023

It was a good book

31 Aug 2023

I enjoyed this book because I learnt some facts through this story including that the King was found in a carpark.
It was an interesting story and I liked reading it.

29 Aug 2023

Too short to get interesting. The book was about two foxes that discovered a ghost king underground.

24 Aug 2023

it was very good and it was esiten to read

14 Aug 2023

Fiction
I like how they just help the ghost King aka Arthur
I would recommend to others.
Happy ending, emotional.

10 Aug 2023

Good but too short

10 Aug 2023

I really enjoyed reading this book i liked that the foxes went to a football match and they seen the king burried up and the king promised the foxes that leicter city would win every single game from that point

04 Aug 2023

Another great little read from Sir Michael Morpurgo linking real life with fiction. A mix real-life stories including the discovery of King Richard II's body in Leicester, Leicester City's Premier League title win in 2016, plus the fox family who may (or may not) have been involved too!

A great read for young and old alike!

31 Jul 2023

I found out the story is actually nearly true.

It was also quite a good book.

I also read it really quickly because I loved it lots.

26 Jul 2023

This story is about a family of Foxes, King Richard III helping Leicester City Football Club win the Premier league. I enjoyed this book as it was a great story, with lots of historical facts, and I loved the characters. I would definitely recommend this book!

22 Jul 2023

I think the best bit was the middle and the end. Then from page 107 I think they included the fox and the ghost king a bit more. it was fiction and I thought the best person was the ghost king because he pointing and telling them off.

17 Jul 2023

Because my second favourite animal is a fox and I also like how it is based on a football team and I like how there's no one that someone doesn't like.

25 Jun 2023

Great read.

03 Sep 2022

I thought that this book was illustrated very well and it was really good to Read. I would recommend this to someone else.

03 Sep 2022

Brilliant

02 Sep 2022

I enjoyed reading this book

01 Sep 2022

It had lots of information, and was really fictionous it was unbelievable.

28 Aug 2022

Loved listening to this story! It was very historical, which I liked!

23 Aug 2022

I thought it it was really great. I liked the GHOST KING.I would recommend it to someone else.

23 Aug 2022

it was a complete mystery and was very exciting.

18 Aug 2022

I liked the baby fox because he respects his parI would recommend it to someone else because it explains the life of foxes

15 Aug 2022

It was amazing. I loved how the was a ghost king underneath the ground and how the fox's dream came true. I would of gave it 5 stars but Leicester F.C. are rival with Chelsea F.C. and I support Chelsea so I gave it 4 stars.

13 Aug 2022

My favourite character was mum because she is so loving and caring to the dad and the son

06 Aug 2022

I liked the book because it had foxes in it and cubs and foxes are my favourite animal because they are nocturnal and i liked how it was a little bit bases on a true story because it had football teams like crystal palace and leicester city!

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