War Horse

Written By: Michael Morpurgo

Joey is a war horse, but he wasn’t always. Once, long ago, he was a farm horse and a gentle boy named Albert was his master. Then World War I came along and changed everything. Albert’s father sells Joey to the army where the beautiful, red-bay horse is trained to charge the enemy, drag heavy artillery, and carry wounded soldiers not much older than Albert off of battlefields. Among the clamoring of guns, and plodding through the cold mud, Joey wonders if the war will ever end. And if it does, will he ever find Albert again.

Summary from the jacket flap provided by Scholastic Press

This book surprised me in a wonderful way. I honestly expected to be put off by excessive violence as some books about war tend to go overboard on the shock factor while under-developing the story. I am happy to say that this book did neither. Joey is the kind of companion any child would be happy to have and his story is one that pulls at your heart at every turn. Michael Morpurgo captured the essence of a world war, including both soldiers and civilians, the longing a person goes through when a friend is missing, and what true kindness to animals can tell you about a person. I highly recommend this book!

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