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Michael Morpurgo
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War Horse: a children’s First World War modern classic Paperback – 3 Aug. 2023

by Michael Morpurgo (Author)
Teachers' pick for school years 1–9
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Before the Steven Spielberg film, before the National Theatre production, there was the classic children’s novel – War Horse. From the nation’s favourite storyteller, Michael Morpurgo.

In the deadly chaos of the First World War, one horse witnesses the reality of battle from both sides of the trenches. Bombarded by artillery, with bullets knocking riders from his back, Joey tells a powerful story of the truest friendships surviving in terrible times. One horse has the seen the best and the worst of humanity. The power of war and the beauty of peace. This is his story.

War Horse was adapted by Steven Spielberg as a major motion picture with Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, and Benedict Cumberbatch. The National Theatre production opened in 2007 and has enjoyed successful runs in the West End and on Broadway.

A great way of introducing young readers to the realities of WWI. Look out for Morpurgo’s other war fiction including Friend or Foe, Waiting for Anya, King of the Cloud Forests and An Eagle in the Snow.

War Horse is a story of universal suffering for a universal audience by a writer who ‘has the happy knack of speaking to both child and adult readers’ (The Guardian).

Michael Morpurgo has written more than one hundred books for children and won the Whitbread Award, the Smarties Award, the Circle of Gold Award, the Children’s Book Award and has been short-listed for the Carnegie Medal four times.

Michael Morpurgo's book 'There Once is a Queen' was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 06-06-2022.

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  1. Reading age
    9 - 12 years, from customers
  2. Print length
    192 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Dimensions
    13.1 x 1.2 x 19.8 cm
  5. Publisher
    Farshore
  6. Publication date
    3 Aug. 2023
  7. ISBN-10
    0008640718
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0008640712
  9. See all details
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War Horse: a children’s First World War modern classic
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Private Peaceful: A poignant children’s novel set during the First World War, from the bestselling author of War Horse
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  1. Farm Boy: An illustrated WW2 children’s story from award-winning author Michael Morpurgo, the extraordinary sequel to WAR HOR
  2. Friend or Foe
  3. Private Peaceful: A poignant children’s novel set during the First World War, from the bestselling author of War Horse
  4. War Horse picture book: A stunning children’s illustrated picture book adaptation of the beloved classic story, celebrating 4
  5. Michael Morpurgo Collection - 12 Books
  6. Why the Whales Came: the perfect children’s story of friendship, the environment and accepting differences
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From the Publisher

Michael Morpurgo

Michael Morpurgo

Michael Morpurgo

Michael Morpurgo

Michael Morpurgo

Michael Morpurgo

Michael Morpurgo

Michael Morpurgo

Michael Morpurgo

Michael Morpurgo

Michael Morpurgo

Michael Morpurgo

Michael Morpurgo

Michael Morpurgo

Product description

Review

Praise for Michael Morpurgo:

“Michael Morpurgo writes brilliantly about war and animals, conveying the big emotions without preaching.” Guardian

“There are few children’s writers as compelling as Michael Morpurgo.” Daily Express

“Morpurgo, as always, is subtle and skillful, and incorporates social and moral issues into his writing without being self-righteous or detracting from the quality of the narrative”
Elizabeth Reilly, British Council

“The former children's laureate has the happy knack of speaking to both child and adult readers.” Guardian

Book Description

a children’s First World War modern classic

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Farshore (3 Aug. 2023)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0008640718
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0008640712
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 9 - 12 years, from customers
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.1 x 1.2 x 19.8 cm
  • Customer reviews:

About the author

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Michael Morpurgo

Michael Morpurgo

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Michael Morpurgo is one of Britain's best-loved children's book writers. He has written more than 100 books and has won the Smarties Prize, the Whitbread Award, and most recently the Blue Peter Book Award for PRIVATE PEACEFUL. He is also the author of WAR HORSE, which has been made into a Tony Award-winning Broadway play and a Golden Globe-nominated film. Michael was Writer in Residence at The Savoy Hotel from January to March 2007, and previously he was Children's Laureate from 2003-2005, a role that took him across Britain to inspire a love of reading in children. You can visit him online at www.michaelmorpurgo.com.

Photo by Georges Seguin (Okki) (English: Own work Français : Photo personnelle) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

Sola
5.0 out of 5 stars Endearing book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 March 2024
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I loved this story, it moved me, and had so many messages, and lessons to learn. Great storytelling and I would recommend to everyone.
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donnasbookblog
5.0 out of 5 stars I loved it - 5 stars!!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 January 2021
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This was one of those books that I had been meaning to read for a while and as my 9-year-old niece is currently reading it I downloaded a copy last night and finished it this morning – and I loved every page.

It was as brilliant and I thought and hoped it would be. I loved the way that Joey’s story was told and the way that the Great War is also discussed and you see it from his view.

It is very well written and I would have stayed up to finish the book in one sitting had I not needed to get up for work the next day. It is a poignant and moving story and it really does show what some of these horses went through. I was lucky to read a book previously on animals in the Great War and they really do deserve a lot more acknowledgment and credit.

Worth all the praise I have seen it given in the past by other readers. It is 5 stars from me for this one and another tick on my wish to read more classics this year - very highly recommended!!
7 people found this helpful
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Susan Gooding
5.0 out of 5 stars Good
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 February 2024
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Good read
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kidkemosabe
4.0 out of 5 stars Review for parents
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 January 2012
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War Horse follows a large chunk of the life of a not-quite thoroughbred horse, Joey, from his idyllic life in rural Devon, albeit as a working farm horse, through to life as a cavalry, and ultimately, working war horse during World War I.

The book is aimed, according to Michael Morpurgo at 8 - 13 year olds, however the new film is a 12A certificate. So you can already see there's a disconnect in who the audience should be. The language, the size and pace of the book is definitely in Morpurgo's age remit, but the story is one hard to pin down to an age, as the realism means that there are often some adult themes and settings. Think again if you expect this book to be about gymkhanas and rosettes and just perfect for your pony-mad seven year old.

First published in 1982, I dare say that at the grand old age of seven, this is a book I would have lapped up - loving horses and adventure stories. However, today's seven year olds are in a very different world and they may find the very linear plot and the more thoughtful scenes of war, a bit banal, if left to their own devices.

It's a difficult one. I guess this is an old-fashioned tale, in the way that Kes or Stig of the Dump were for me, they can transcend generations and age groups, but I think that this is the kind of book that children need to learn in school or with adults. They need to be given time and cues to absorb and consider some of the deeper aspects of the book, to get the most from it. Rather than speed read - "Ok so there's a war, yep I've seen wars on the news and the X-Box, skip to the end...". I'm not saying all children would read like that, but some of the more multi-media savvy may.

The first-person perspective, or should I say first-horse perspective give us quite a naive viewpoint of the world, which is where children should be hooked in, but Morpurgo is careful not to bring us into a world of anthropomorphised horses - making friends and chatting with each other. At the most we see one way conversations between rider and horse. Which in turn makes Joey seem more alone and part of a moveable human system of command, in which he is just a pawn.

From a historical aspect it's great that kids get a sense of what it was like to go to war, not just as a soldier, but as a horse, a sense of the number of people and horses killed in WWI and the fate of many of the horses who survived the war, which, to me is the most shocking of all. Beyond the historical elements, there are deeper themes around progress and challenging expectations which any good teacher/parent could use as discussion points.''This is a simple tale, grueling in some parts, but weighted heavily in realism, which often children's books aren't. War Horse has no trouble facing up to some of the harsh realities of war, whilst remaining a story that I defy adults and children alike not to feel saddened and gladdened by in parts. That said, I don't think it is a depressing tale. Morpurgo keeps Joey's thoughts firmly in the present and the past with little consideration for the future. He has no judgements or prejudices that aren't founded in experience and there is no heavy political undertones, we are allowed to come to our own conclusions through Joey's descriptions. Joey's thoughts and motivations are not as complex as a human's might be and his tone is often stoic. So any tugs on the heart strings are relationship based but the plot doesn't let us linger too long.

At 36 I have now learned how to spell "bivouacked", but more importantly learnt that we went to war with cavalry and sabres only to meet enemy with more advanced technology; the machine gun. And this is a good general analogy for where the book sits on the bookshop shelf. Perhaps it is a bit of cavalry horse out of time and old fashioned compared to the more exciting and modern book offerings that may appear to instantly shoot it down. But it's definitely not throw away or forgettable, a story that will stay with the reader for a long time. Which I would say is the definition of a children's classic.
5 people found this helpful
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Catherine Tang
5.0 out of 5 stars Very touching indeed
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 August 2021
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I first read War Horse in Year 2, the Chinese version of it. Hurt when Capt. Nicholls died. It was not just because I liked him, but also how much he behaved like a character that would last beyond the end of the book to me. I thought I would have become more critical and capable of better guesses now since I've read a lot, written a lot and have had Adrienne and Sara and UCL Writers' Soc BUT STILL, when I read War Horse again I was shocked to find Capt. Nicholls die this early on. After these many years he still looks like someone who would have many more storylines to contribute to and I'm not used to this sudden farewell. Guess it's not about being a trained reader or having a literary instinct; I simply hate seeing or foreseeing his death. It hurts the same and perhaps even more in English and I'm recollecting my feelings about War Horse.
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Chandon S Gallagher
5.0 out of 5 stars Yet another emotion-filled novel created at the hands of the author!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 June 2012
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In order to start my review, I would like you to bare a thought of my great liking towards all of Michael Morpurgo's books/novels. From 'Alone on a wide,wide sea' to ' Kensuke's Kingdom' I have read many, many of his masterpieces. By common instinct I knew this book would match or surpass the other stories he has been known for... And I was thoughly correct! Even from chapters as early as the first, my emotion dwelled, only because of how sad, no nerve-wreaking the content was. So it seems, each sentence he has written was given much thought; one reason as to why this book is a novel which even history will remember. Also, may I add that this is one of Michael Morpurgo's earlier publications! Correct me if wrong, but this book is from 1982. Further more, I must express how glad I am that this has been publicised recently, as this really made War Horse popular; which is the way it should be. You most probably won't agree with me when I say the book is more greater than the motion picture, but it is. Throughout war horse, I cried, I smiled, I even laughed, but the point is, this book is nothing but sheer amazement! As I have taken the time to write this review, I want in return for you to read this book, and I can promise that you will indeed thank me. Thank you for taking the time to read my review, and I hope this helped!
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Gexxy bois
5.0 out of 5 stars Spider-Man.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 August 2023
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I like the bit where Spider-Man swings in to save the horse and saves him from getting hurt by the barbed wire.
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Ananda
5.0 out of 5 stars Increíblemente bueno
Reviewed in Mexico on 26 January 2023
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Tengo diez años y me gusta mucho leer, este fue uno de mis libros favoritos y la historia estuvo muy padre porque va de triste a emocionante.
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⚡Kathylaughter101⚡
5.0 out of 5 stars Epically emotional Novel
Reviewed in Canada on 19 August 2021
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Incredible story and fast shipping from Uk to Canada. Amazingly polite and respectable customer service. A joy to deal with. Thank you guys!
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Costa Giuseppe
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfetto
Reviewed in Italy on 22 December 2023
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Soumen Basak
5.0 out of 5 stars Great for animal lovers
Reviewed in India on 7 April 2019
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Very good book, perfect for all ages. The story is not about a usual plot and show the many different aspects of the life of a horse. I don't want to give any spoilers even though i am very temted to, the story is enjoyable and unpredictable which makes it very fun to read. enjoy :)
3 people found this helpful
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一般人
5.0 out of 5 stars very good book
Reviewed in Japan on 26 January 2024
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This book is on my son’s school reading list. Started reading it yesterday and just couldn’t stop reading until the end. A very good book that should be read by everyone who loves animals. Relived that Joey and Albert have a happy reunion!
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