War Horse

War Horse - Audio by Michael Morpurgo

Albert's father aquires a beautiful horse. Albert immediately bonds with his father's new horse and names him Joey to along with their old farm horse, Zoey. As war becomes closer to their village, soldiers come and seek out available horses for their calvary. To keep the farm, Albert's father sells Joey. Albert it heartbroken. He asks to join the calvary, but is denied because of his youth. Albert returns home with a promise to find his beloved Joey.

War Horse is a play and a movie, but the original is a book by Michael Morpurgo. I wanted to hear the original text before seeing the play or the film version. Teachers and researchers require original resources and readers should seek them out as well.

War Horse is a short book with an amazing storyline. Listeners (and readers) see war via a calvary horse. They hear about the love of animals and the misunderstanding of using calvary in modern warfare. The story is heartbreaking, but do not toss it aside. I would highly recommend this title for any reader interested in war stories, horse tales, or overcoming adversity. I am looking forward to seeing the various interpretations on stage and film.

John Keating narrates War Horse and various Irish stories. Joey, the horse travels all over the world, so the Keating must add several dialects in his narration. When the characters moves from the UK, to France and Germany, the narration changed as well as male and female voices. Some of the group scenes were similar in character, but still understandable and very acceptable. I am very pleased the decision to use Keating for a European story would be very flat without a him.

Reviewed from a library copy.

Audio Book Details...
War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
Read by John Keating
Produced by Scholastic Audiobooks
Number of Discs: 4
Total Time: 4 hours, 4 minutes