Kid's Book Review: War Horse | Books Up North (2024)

War Horse is a book that everyone is familiar with. However, you may not be aware that Michael Morpurgo’s story about a friendship between a boy and his horse Joey, set in the First World War, has now been adapted into a picture book.

Illustrated throughout by Tom Clohosy Cole, this enables this popular and important story to be enjoyed by a younger readers. The full colour pictures are glossy, clean-lined and vivid – almost in the style of graphic novel artwork, except that they are glorious full colour spreads, as you would expect in a picture book for younger children.

We would recommend this moving book to children aged 6-9 years. It tells of an enduring friendship between a boy and his horse, which is touching and will appeal to animal lovers, but this book also helps children to understand the history and deadly chaos of the First World War in an appropriate way. As we move beyond centenary commemorations and continue to strive for peace across the world, War Horseis a classic that will be read by generations to come.

Michael Morpurgo is one of Britain’s best loved writers for children with sales of over 35 million copies. He has written over 150 books and won many prizes, including the Smarties Prize and the Whitbread Award. In 2005 he won the Blue Peter Book Award for his novel Private Peaceful, which was also adapted into an acclaimed stage play.

Michael was Children’s Laureate from 2003 to 2005. The charity Farms for City Children, which he founded thirty years ago with his wife Clare, has now enabled over 60,000 children to spend a week living and working down on the farm. He was knighted in 2018 for services to literature and charity. Visit his website to find out more about this master storyteller.

Tom Clohosy Cole is a freelance illustrator who studied illustration at Kingston University. He loves illustrating and tackling new projects, enjoying the challenges they bring. He also works as a Background Designer for Animation and a Storyboard Artist. You can see more examples of his work on his website.

I couldn’t wait to read this book when it arrived because it looked so special.

I think that this book is amazing and at one point I got tears in my eyes. The pictures are amazing, so detailed. My favourite was the one where Albert was in the trenches.

I think Joey, the horse was really brave and so was Albert. Joey and Albert had a really good friendship and it was heart-warming to read about.

The war was really bad. I don’t know who the German was in the story, but I think he wanted the war to be over too because of what he said. I didn’t know they used horses in the war I thought they used cows so this was something that I learned about the war.

After I read the book I talked with my Granny about it. She and my Grandad went to see War Horse at the Theatre a long time ago and she said it was brilliant. I liked sharing this book with her so she could see the amazing pictures and we could talk about the story together.

I am so lucky I can keep this book I will read it lots and then put it in the box of really special books my Mum says we are saving for my children to read one day!

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