Thomas (Tommo) Peaceful is a young boy with a big heart and a loving family. His older brother Charlie is always there for him and is willing to die for him and won’t let anyone put him down. When Charlie decides to join the army no-one is impressed. With Molly pregnant it is one of the hardest decisions Charlie will ever have to make but he goes ahead. Following him, Tommo joins the army leaving Molly, Big Joe and his mother to look after each other. The sergeant picks on Tommo because he is supposedly the brother of a joker. Charlie takes great joy in messing with the sergeant and cheering everybody up but he does have to accept the consequences and they are very severe. Charlie gets shot and returns home on compassionate leave. After they had just recovered from the frontline – by going to a bar - the brothers get the news they are heading back to the war and have sergeant ‘horrible’ Hanley.
by Abigail Murray
St Marylebone Key Stage 3 Reading Blog
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ReplyDeleteOn the battlefields of the First World War, Private Thomas Peaceful tells his heart-breaking story through his thoughts and childhood memories in one long night. His story starts on his first day at school when we immediately are introduced to his kind loving brother, Charlie. We follow the adventurous stories of the young boys as they grow up. The interruption of the war causes the brothers to leave their small village and their family and fight in the war.
ReplyDeleteI like how each memory is retold through a flashback. These memories are written in present tense and give a sense that we are almost part of the story, reliving each of Tommo' thoughts and emotions. By reading from this point of view, we are immediately drawn to Charlie Peaceful through Thomas's love and pride towards him, and we can empathise with the tragic event at the end as we connect with Tommo's emotions.
The song Oranges and Lemons is sung throughout the book by Tommo's other brother called Big Joe, and the song is associated with happiness. Big Joe has slight mental disability but is also a fully positive character in the book. However, when the song is sung at the end of the story, it is associated with the depression and sadness of the event. Now whenever I hear this song it makes me feel sad.
This book is a short yet emotional story that makes you connect with it. That is why I highly recommend it to you.
Angela Sun
I have only read the first part of this book but it sounds great and michael morpurgo is one of my favourite authors so this sounds really good. :-)
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