January 4, 1999
Following their Robin of Sherwood and Arthur, High King of Britain, Morpurgo and Foreman turn their talents to historical fiction about the Maid of Orl ans. Morpurgo frames his chronicle of Joan of Arc within a contemporary story about Eloise, a 17-year-old French girl who has set her heart on playing Joan in the annual tableaux in Orl ans, where Eloise's family has just moved. When Eloise narrowly loses a contest to portray Joan, she seeks the solace of the sparrow she has befriended down by the river. There a voice from on high ("from deep inside the light, deep inside the silence") tells her the complete story of Joan of Arc, including Joan's lifelong companionship with a white sparrow ("He was her best friend on this earth"). Told in smooth, expansive chapters, the narrative skirts some of the more searching questions about Joan's voices and vocation (such as those raised in Diane Stanley's recent picture-book biography, Joan of Arc) and accepts Joan's religious visions at face value. Indeed, with the introductions of a supernatural narrator and of a sparrow that enjoys an almost mystical relationship with Joan, Morpurgo signals that his storytelling is premised on faith. Foreman, too, adopts only the look of realism. His deceptively sunny palette offsets the often brutal matter of the narrative, and his familiar, informal, representational style balances his allusions to religious imagery. If the work is not as provocative as Stanley's, its polish and panoramic scope will lure and hold readers. Ages 9-14. (Mar.) FYI: Also coming from Morpurgo and Foreman this month is Farm Boy, a contemporary story set in Devon and focusing on a storytelling grandfather and his grandson (Pavilion , $16.95 paper 80p ages 7-10 ISBN 1-86205-192-5; Mar.).
April 30, 2012
First published in the U.K. in 1997, this novella, billed as a sequel to Morpurgo's War Horse, reads more like a tender epilogue. Albert, who joined the British Army during WWI at age 14 intent on finding his requisitioned horse, Joey, has long since died. Even his son is an old man now, still living on the family farm in Devon. During a summer with his (unnamed) grandson, he tells stories about his father, Albert, the war hero; their fine draft horses, Joey and Zoey; and, most importantly, how all the days spent helping with the harvest instead of going to school left him illiterate. The grandson then becomes teacher to the man, and is rewarded with a final story, written in his grandfather's unpunctuated, regional English (no grammar, phonetic spellings). Foreman's hazy watercolor-and-pencil illustrations depict rural and wartime scenes, evoking the early 20th century with period posters and advertisements. While this well-crafted story lacks the grand drama of War Horse, it offers a satisfying glimpse into a bygone era, while delivering quiet messages about the value of hard work, family, and the tragedies of war. Ages 8â12.