In this short but touching story written by Michael Morpurgo, Michael wants to know more about his father. Michael is just a regular boy, but the fact that he comes from a family of soldiers makes him unique. Michael only has one living parent because his dad, Roy, died fighting in World War II even before he was born. Michael’s mom never talks about Michael’s dad, so Michael knows nearly nothing about his dad. Michael has only seen his dad in pictures. Michael just knows that his dad earned many medals for his brave actions. Although Michael is sad that he does not have a living father, his father is only a picture to him. Michael wants to know more about his late father, so every time he visits his aunts, Auntie Snowdrop and Auntie Pish, he asks about his father. Auntie Snowdrop and Auntie Pish both tell Michael that his father Roy was the center of their lives, but Michael does not know why.
I am not a big fan of sad books, but I liked this book even though it was extremely sad. I thought that this book was very interesting despite its short length and low difficulty level. I became attached to this book as I read further into the book. I loved how the book did not give everything away until near the end of the book when Michael read the letter Auntie Snowdrop gave him. I did not like how the beginning of the book was very confusing. I would recommend this book to anyone between the ages 13-18 because it contains information about World War I and World War II.
One memorable thing about the book was how there were so many dogs named Jasper in the book. There must have been at least five dogs named Jasper in the book!
Reviewed by James, Grade 8, Gayton Library
HCPL TeenScene's Read + Review 