War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
A very good, well written story, but incredibly sad. The strong emotional story line makes it a read for older children, rather than younger readers because of the subject matter alone. The story is well written and easy to follow for children, and is told wonderfully through the point of view of Joey, rather than his owners, as it is more in the recently made film.
Joey finds himself taken from his home farm and sold to the army to be taken to the Western Front during the First World War. Michael Morpurgo opens our eyes to an element of the war that tends to be overlooked – the role played by the thousands of horses taken into France. Here we see through Joey’s eyes the horrors of the front line in France in 1914 and onwards. But like the soldiers around Joey, we are in awe at his strength of character and courage.
Visit Michael Morpurgo’s beautiful website for more information on War Horse and his other novels at www.michaelmorpurgo.com
