War Horse

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Common Sense is the nation's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of all kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in the 21st century. Farm Boy (War Horse, book 2) by Michael Morpurgo". www.fantasticfiction.com . Retrieved 25 April 2019.

Watch this interview with the author, Michael Morpurgo. What questions would you ask him if you had the opportunity? Life Imitating Art. The book starts by describing a painting of Joey that Captain Nicholls made, which is hanging in the Iddesleigh town hall. Many readers if the book have believed that this painting, which Morpurgo made up, was real and went in search of it. Finally, following the stage play and film adaptations, Morpurgo commissioned an old-fashioned painting of a horse matching Joey’s description to hang in the town hall for the benefit of his fans.Zoey is a sweet older farm horse who takes Joey under her wing and helps him to learn the skills necessary for success as a farm horse. She is placid, obedient, and very much trusted. She and Joey have a close, almost mother/son type of bond. Captain Nicholls The painting mentioned in the preface of the book, a portrait of Joey painted by Captain Nicholls and now hanging in the Village Hall (of an unnamed village), was a fiction of Morpurgo's. However, particularly since the success of the stage version of the book, so many tourists have come to the village of Iddesleigh, where Morpurgo lives, and asked to see the painting in the village hall, that in 2011 Morpurgo commissioned an artist to paint just such an oil painting to hang there. He used equine artist Ali Bannister, who acted as the chief "equine hair and make-up" artist on the Steven Spielberg film of the book and who also drew the sketches of Joey seen in the film. [21] Exclusive: War Horse Cast Announced". Empire. 17 June 2010 . Retrieved 17 June 2010. taking the lead (or the reins) is young actor Jeremy Irvine, who has earned his stripes with both the National Youth Theatre and the RSC. Look at pictures of horses (see Resources below) and think of as many words as you can to describe them. Poor Joey and Albert get separated during WW1, both are distraught. This book will make you smile and cry.

Choose a pet or another animal and write a story from its point of view. What does it think about its life? How does it feel? What adventures might it have? Albert's father could not afford to keep Joey, so he sends him to the Army without Albert knowing. When Albert found out, he was more upset than he had ever been before. Albert tried to join too, but he was a year too young. Captain Nicholls promised to take care of Joey and led him away. A radio adaptation of the book was broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on 8 November 2008. [16] It featured Timothy Spall starring as the voice of Albert, Brenda Blethyn as Mother and Bob Hoskins as Sergeant Thunder. The radio play was rebroadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra on 11 November 2011 as part of a special Remembrance sequence. War Horse is a British war novel by Michael Morpurgo. It was first published in Great Britain by Kaye & Ward in 1982. The story recounts the experiences of Joey, a horse bought by the Army for service in World War I in France and the attempts of 15-year-old Albert, his previous owner, to bring him safely home. It formed the basis of both an award-winning play (2007) and an acclaimed film adaptation (2011) by Steven Spielberg. The novel is often considered one of Morpurgo's best works, and its success spawned a sequel titled Farm Boy, which was published in October 1997.Soon, however, Germans pass by their farm, and take away the horses to pull their artillery wagon. The two meet Friedrich, who befriends them and tries to care for them, growing to love Topthorn and telling them that he did not want to be a soldier. Joey and Topthorn are two of the last few survivors of the artillery-pulling team. One day, after drinking water with Joey, Topthorn dies from heart failure. The Allied artillery starts shelling right after the Germans and Friedrich is killed. After seeing an Allied tank for the first time, Joey runs in terror and is wounded by barbed wire before breaking free. Both the Allied and German soldiers see the wounded Joey in no-man's-land, and a British soldier wins possession of him by flipping a coin with a German soldier and winning. However, their few minutes of friendly peace create a bond between the two before they separate. Read the descriptions of the farm and other settings in the story. Could you draw / paint a picture of some of these places? War Horse is simply anti-war and pro-horse. Events are told by a sensitive animal, albeit one with limited understanding of human machinations; this seems to highlight the senselessness of the destruction. Joey the horse doesn't understand why men are killing each other, and neither does the reader. The bond between horse and master is sweet and profound, and a love of animals shows the commonality between people on both sides of the conflict. Morpurgo, Michael (1 January 2014). "First world war centenary is a year to honour the dead but not to glorify". The Guardian.

Rich with historical detail and beautifully illustrated, this is a touching and inspirational portrayal of farming life and familial ties. Sir Michael Morpurgo is one of Britain's best-loved writers for children. He has written over 100 books and won many prizes, including the Smarties Prize, Blue Peter Book Award and the Whitbread Award. His recent bestselling novels include Listen to the Moon, A Medal for Leroy and Shadow. His novel War Horse has been successfully adapted as a West End and Broadway theatre play and a major film by Steven Spielberg. A former Children's Laureate, Michael is also the co-founder, with his wife Clare, of the charity Farms for City Children. Steven Spielberg decided to make War Horse into a movie. Can you see why? Why do you think war movies are popular with audiences? The book was originally supposed to end with Joey being sold to a butcher for horse meat, and Emilie's grandfather giving an enamel horse pin to Albert to remember Joey by.After meeting a World War I veteran, Wilfred Ellis, who drank in his local pub at Iddesleigh and who had been in the Devon Yeomanry working with horses, Morpurgo began to think of telling the story of the universal suffering of the Great War through a horse's viewpoint, but was unsure that he could do it. [1] He also met another villager, Captain Budgett, who had been in the cavalry in the Great War, and a third villager, Albert Weeks, who remembered the Army coming to the village to buy horses. Morpurgo thanks these three men in the dedication of the book. [2] [3] Morpurgo recalled in another article: "As I listened to this boy telling the horse everything he'd done on the farm that day, I suddenly had the idea that of course the horse didn't understand every word, but that she knew it was important for her to stand there and be there for this child." A young man called Albert embarks on a dangerous quest to locate his beloved horse in the First World War and bring him safely home.

A Welsh version of the novel, adapted by Casia Wiliam and titled Ceffyl Rhyfel, was published by Gwasg Carreg Gwalch in 2010. [17] Further information [ edit ]

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Morpurgo has approached this bitter conflict from an unusual and moving perspective, focusing on the valuable role that animals played throughout the war, and the dignity that both creatures and men showed in the face of suffering. Albert’s father thinks that horses are ‘obstinate and stupid’. Can you think of synonyms for these words? Can you find any antonyms? At the start of the story, Joey is a colt. Find out the words that we use to describe other young animals. A grandfather explaining to his grandson how his difficult post-war childhood had led him into petty crime.