War Horse

Morpugo, Michael. War Horse. New York : Scholastic Press, 2007.

Plot: Bought on a whim by a drunk farmer, Joey, a little colt, suddenly finds himself thrust in a strange barn. The farmer's son, a quiet, thoughtful, gentle boy, keeps his father from harming the skittish bay and teaches the colt to work in the field. The calm situation shatters at the start of the first World War. Joey finds himself torn away from the boy he loves and lead to the front lines as a cavalry horse. Despite the sacrifices of the men around him, Joey gets captured by the Germans, transitioning from an ambulance steed to a gun horse. Yet, the promise of a boy in England continually inspires the war horse. The farmer's son will find him.

Genre: Animals, Historical Fiction

Reading Level: Grades 4-8

Similar Titles: Cracker, Black Beauty, Gib Rides Home

Personal Thoughts: The book reads much like Black Beauty, highlighting some of the issues facing horses as beasts of burden. Unlike the generic long-ago setting of Sewell's, novel, Morpugo's text focuses on the good and ugly aspects associated with horses during one of the worst wars the world has ever known. Problems such as improper treatment, poor medical care, and post-wartime brutality find mention. To the text's credit, though, it avoids casting any one side of the war as exclusively bad or entirely good. Benign Germans interact with callous Englishmen and vice-versa. While the cruelty of war finds discussion, so does courage, loyalty, and humanity. The book takes an unusual but interesting look at the last war that used horses as a major resource.

The story provided the inspiration for plays, museum displays, and a movie.

Side note: Jerome, Toothless is going to get mad.