The lesser known sequel to War Horse. Rosie’s #Bookreview of Farm Boy by Michael Morpurgo

Farm Boy by Michael Morpurgo

4 stars

Farm boy is the lesser known sequel to War Horse by Michael Morpurgo. It is a short book filled with delightful illustrations and is written primarily for the young adult historical fiction market.

I wanted to read this because it was mainly set in Devon and I have been collecting stories from this county; the farming theme also appealed to me. The book features a young boy who spends his summers in Devon on his grandpa’s farm. Grandpa tells his grandson about his love for his working horse Joey, and briefly about his own father who signed up for the war so that he could find Joey – the army bought Joey from the farm for use in World War One.

There’s also a lovely piece about teaching Grandpa to read and write, resulting in Grandpa writing a treasured story about an old Ferguson tractor. I particularly liked the tractor story as I have another set of children’s books all written about old Ferguson tractors.

An enchanting tale about family and the stories they share.

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The magical sequel to ‘War Horse’. Joey was the last working horse on the farm, and the apple of Grandpa’s eye. In War Horse, Joey was sent away from the farm to be a warhorse in WWI. Grandpa’s father had joined the cavalry in order to find, and fight, with Joey. Farm Boy brings us forward fifty years with Grandpa not only telling his grandson, Joey’s story but also a ‘shameful secret’ which he has held for years…

The story is set in Iddesleigh in Devon and lovingly evokes the bonds between farm and farmer; grandson and grandfather. The spirit of rural life is superbly captured in both Michael Morpurgo’s writing and Michael Foreman’s illustrations. An irresistible title from acclaimed author-illustrator partnership.

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