Welcome to my feature, Pastime Pleasures, posted every other Friday. Today is the turn of War Horse by Michael Morpurgo.
Here I will look at books that have given me great pleasure in the past. These are books I can read over and over again. The only rule is that the book must have been published five or more years ago.
War Horse is a beautiful, moving tale told from the perspective of Joey the horse as he moves from a sleepy village in Devon to part of the Cavalry in World War I before being used in the German army.
While aimed at a younger audience (9-12 years old), this is a book that can be enjoyed by anyone. Told in a way that is engaging War Horse is not only a brilliant story but also is informative about what happened in World War I, that is appropriate for the reader age it is aimed for.
Joey is someone who is a caring, loving and loyal character, who you cannot help but hope for him to survive and return to Albert, his master from Devon.
While War Horse is about war, it is also about survival, friendship and loyalty. It is about finding happiest in the smallest of moments. As Joey says “If it is possible to be happy in the middle of a nightmare, then Topthorn and I were happy that summer.”
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