I decided that, with so many of our students reading, and loving, Michael Morpurgo, I should try and read some of his work and this was the book that I decided to kick off with. I can agree with the students that this was a brilliant book and it moved me to tears when I read the ending, although I have not begun to recommend him as an author due to my limited experience with his other books.
As a first book by the author, I feel as though this was an ideal one to have chosen to begin with. The story is one that grips you as you read through it for the first time, the three main characters interacting with one another as they grow up and the relationships change between them.
It is the relationship between the two brothers that I enjoy the most and it is one that I feel I am able understand with multiple older brothers myself. It is something that I feel the author must have had experienced in some way for him to be able to portray the relationship so well, the interactions between siblings.
This book took me an evening to finish because I was gripped by it but I wish that it had taken longer by the time that I had gotten to the end so that I could have put off the tears that appeared once I closed the book on those final pages. It is my understanding, from catching kids cheating, that this book has since been made into a film but since the book made me cry, it is a film that I have been more than happy to avoid.
This book, Private Peaceful, is a book that I would happily recommend to anyone who is wanting to start with Michael Morpurgo, as well as any students who are studying the War in their lessons as it offers the point of view of families during the wartime, and growing up to a world that isn’t at peace (perhaps something that we are all becoming, regrettably, used to).
4 out of 5 stars
Accelerated Reader Information
Level: 5.2
Points: 7.0
Interest Level: MY
Quiz Number: 206723
023 Journal of Books 