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Review by
Louella Moreland
Joey is a young red bay horse with four matching white socks and a white
cross-shaped blaze. Joey is a war horse, a hero; he is also a devoted
friend. Morpurgo has crafted a story that immerses readers in early 1900s
England and France, just prior to and during the first World War. Told from
the perspective of the horse, Joey, we have a creative look at how a horse
views the people and events surrounding its life.
The tale begins with Joey being separated from his mother and sold at
auction to a drunken farmer in rural England. Although the farmer can be
cruel, his son takes on the training of the young horse, taming him and
teaching him to work on the farm. A very special bond develops between the
young boy, Albert, and the horse as war breaks out in Europe. The boy is too
young yet to join the fighting, but the farmer sells Joey to the army in
order to pay the mortgage on the farm. Joey goes to war.
At first Joey is trained as a cavalry horse, but the soldiers soon learn
that this type of warfare will no longer work against the German's machine
guns. Joey loses his kind Capt. Nichols in the first fight.
During another fight, Joey and another horse in the regiment not only
lead the charge, but find they have pushed through the front line of
Germans. Their riders are taken prisoner and Joey and Topthorn are sent to a
farm near German headquarters. There they are cared for by an old farmer and
his orphaned granddaughter. These Germans treat them well. Joey and Topthorn
are used to pull the medical ambulance carts to and from the front lines.
When the medical corps is moved to a new duty station, Joey and Topthorn are
left in the care of the farmer.
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Their days of good care and light work come to an abrupt end when
a new set of soldiers come to the farm and take the horses away to
transport heavy guns to the front. This is arduous and dangerous
work. Soon all the horses of the team begin to lose weight and
muscle tone, becoming sick. Topthorn dies, and Joey has once again
lost a friend.
As the years progress, the war continues, the work takes its
toll, and Joey is no longer the young, strong horse that loved a
farmer's son and delighted in his work. People and animals come and
go in his life, until one day, through chance, Joey finds himself
wounded by barbed wire and in the no man's land between the German
and Allied fronts. As the result of a coin toss, he is sent to the
English field veterinarian and reunited with Albert, who has joined
the army in the hopes of finding his friend. But Joey's fate is
still undecided, as lockjaw sets in and an auction threatens to part
the two once again.
Morpurgo takes readers on an emotional roller coaster ride as we
grow to appreciate and love this courageous animal, realizing that
humans determine the circumstances that are his world. It is a story
that one will not soon forget.
You will find "War Horse" and other historical stories about
animals at the Lincoln Public Library, 725 Pekin St. Come in soon,
and discover an exciting way to learn about history.
[Text from file received from
Louella Moreland,
Lincoln Public Library District]
(Ms. Lou's blog:
lincolnpubliclibraryupdates.blogspot.com) |
