Shelf Life

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

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