Title: War Horse
Series: War Horse #1
Author: Michael Morpurgo
Published: 06/08/2007, Egmont Press
Pages: 182
Source: Bought
Format: Paperback
Rating: 3/5
Series: War Horse #1
Author: Michael Morpurgo
Published: 06/08/2007, Egmont Press
Pages: 182
Source: Bought
Format: Paperback
Rating: 3/5
"War Horse" is the story of Joey, a thoroughbred horse, and how he is forced into the thick of the harrowing, poorly-led battles of First World War.
War Horse is a wonderful children's book and I really wish I had read it when I was younger. I feel I would have liked it a lot more although it was still an enjoyable and interesting read.
War Horse is Joey's story from Joey's point of view and this is gives such a unique aspect to the story. It gives a completely different insight into World War I and you don't often hear of how an animal suffers during war. Joey's viewpoint also showed how quickly things could change during the war. He himself experiences the war from both sides and to him the English and the Germans don't seem different at all. To Joey there was no wrong side of the war. Work was work and Joey would have happily worked for either side along as he was treated with dignity.
War Horse is a pretty fast paced novel with four years of war condensed into 182 pages. There was always something major happening and this meant it was a very fast read. However, I do think some parts could have been fleshed out a bit more.For instance, characters would appear and then disappear again in, what felt like, an instant.
I feel that War Horse is a nice introduction to war and loss for children. I would definitely recommend War Horse to children around the age of 9 to 12. It's simple and puts a difficult subject into an easy to read format for younger reads. It was perhaps to simple for me but I would have absolutely loved this if I had read it when I was younger. This isn't the first Michael Morpurgo book I have read but it has been years and I'm to sure whether I will read one again - I now feel too old for them.
COYER Scavenger Hunt #55: Read a book featuring an animal prominently in the story.
Oh now I want to read this. I loved Michael Morpurgo when I was younger, The Butterfly Lion was the first book I remember reading on my own (I now have a signed copy!) and Private Peaceful made me cry!
ReplyDeleteIt is such a brilliant children's book and he truly is an amazing author. I too remember reading Michael Morpurgo when I was younger but I cannot for the life of me remember what ones I read!
DeleteIs this the one they made into a movie? I saw a movie similar at least and it was really good. I can see how it might be too young for me, but I'm going to put it on a list for a young reader in my family - he's 9 and really loves both history and animals. Thanks for the great review!
ReplyDeleteYes! This is the one that was adapted into a movie, I've not seen it but my parents have and absolutely loved it. It's also a West End play too. I'm sure your 9 year old would love it!
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