A very young reporter reveals the true story of an elderly villager, Henry Friston, and Ali Pasha, a tortoise who is 68 years old. The elder's tale, based on true events, is a tale of a boy's hunger to see the world. He joined the Royal Navy in 1913, was sent to the Battleship HMS Implacable, and then into war at Gallipoli. Henry said, “I swear the sea was made of blood that day.” p. 40. Ali Pasha was a rescue animal that the young sailor saved from the battle field at Gallipoli and brought home to England. “A Great War survivor of shot and shell,” the Times reported in 1986 when the story was finally told.

2016 Outstanding International Book, United States Board on Books for Young People, USA.

Author lives in Cornwall and London.

UK. Originally published in English by Templar in 2013. Published in the United States by Henry Holt in 2015.

As a boy, Henry Friston dreamed of traveling the world. He thought he was signing up for a lifetime of adventure when he joined the Royal Navy. But when World War I begins, it launches the world, and Henry, into turmoil. While facing enemy fire at Gallipoli, Henry discovers the strength he needs to survive in an unexpected source: a tortoise. And so begins the friendship of a lifetime. Based on true events, and with charming illustrations, this story of war, courage, and friendship will win the hearts of readers.