The book is told from the viewpoint of the horse, Joey. In World War I over ten million humans, mainly young men and six million horses died.It is this horrifying period of world history that forms the backdrop for War Horse. I ride myself and love it so I can see where Albert is coming from when he is heart broken with his fathers decision to sell Joey to the army. I thought War Horse was brilliant! It is the most touching book I have ever read, and I would recommend it to anyone, even if they aren't animal lovers!This book has the most spectacular points of a horses view and it also shows that there is nothing to be scared about horses. This book was recommended to me by a friend and to put it into a few words. Children could write diary entries from the perspectives of different characters, write a newspaper article about key events during the war or conduct role plays where they discuss events they have read about. It could be read with groups during literacy lessons or read as a whole class during a series of history lessons to teach children about World War One. War Horse would be an excellent book for children in upper key-stage two. The reader therefore experiences key aspects of the war such as trench warfare, shelling and no-man’s land. Joey’s descriptions are chiefly concerned with his senses: the noises, the smells, the tiredness, hunger and pain he feels. The use of an animal narrator is also an effective way of conveying the horror of World War One. By using a non-human narrator, Morpurgo transcends nationalism and humanises his human characters. Joey evaluates the character of the humans by considering their behaviour towards him rather than whether they are British, French or German. Each of the characters he encounters has different perspectives on the war. He allows Michael Morpurgo to avoid nationalistic perspectives while exploring World War One. Towards the end of the war Joey is reunited with the farm boy who trained him at the start of the novel. He is later commandeered by a German battalion. For a time he is cared for by a young French girl and her grandfather. During the course of the war, Joey strays into no-man’s land and is separated from the British Army. The officer is killed in an early battle. He is a young farm horse who is purchased by a British Army officer and taken to France at the start of the war. The story is told from the perspective of a young horse named Joey. It starts just before the outbreak of war and ends shortly after the Armistice. War Horse is historical fiction novel set around the First World War.
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