[LM_NET] BOOK REVIEW: War Horse by Morpurgo

[Doyle_Tony <tdoyle@MUHSD.K12.CA.US>]

This review, and others can be found on "Shelf Life: The Livingston High School 
Reading Blog":
http://lhsblog.edublogs.org/

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo

Morpurgo, recipient of the California Young Reader Medal for Private Peaceful, 
again gives us a soldier’s eye view of life among the trenches of World War I.  
This time however the soldier is a horse.  Joey, a beautiful and spirited young 
horse, is sold to the army by the father of his master, Albert.  Joey, like Private 
Thomas Peaceful, vividly conveys the experiences of an innocent thrust into 
terrifying violence of the “War to End All Wars.”  Joey charges machine gun nests, 
drags artillery, and hauls the injured and the dead.  He meets a wide range of 
soldiers and officers, from the kind and thoughtful to the brutish and cruel.  Can 
Joey survive a world of machine guns, artillery, and tanks, a world in which horse 
are fast becoming obsolete?  And will Joey ever be reunited with his beloved Albert?

As in Private Peaceful, the writing is excellent and Morpurgo brings the sights, 
sounds and smells of the battle field alive (“Still the guns bellowed out their 
fury and the ground shook beneath us.”).  Joey is, at times, over anthropomorphized 
but is a protagonist kids will root for.  Highly recommended for grades 5-10.

By Mr. Doyle

--------------------------------------------------
Anthony Doyle, Teacher Librarian
Livingston High School
Livingston, CA
tdoyle@muhsd.k12.ca.us<mailto:tdoyle@muhsd.k12.ca.us>

"Play nice."
Mrs. Young (my kindergarten teacher)

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