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Private Peaceful
From the Children's Laureate of England, a stunning novel of the First World War, a boy who is on its front lines, and a childhood remembered. Includes After Words bonus features.As the enemy lurks in the darkness, Thomas struggles to stay awake through the night. He has lived through the terror of gas attacks and watched friends die by his side. But in the morning, Tho...more
Paperback, 224 pages
Published
May 1st 2006
by Scholastic Inc.
(first published August 2nd 2004)
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In this young adult novel, the year is 1916, the middle of the horrific First World War. Private Thomas Peaceful, a British soldier, hunkers down in his foxhole keeping night watch for the German enemy lurking only a football-field length away in their trenches. The war has hit a stalemate and the battlefield that separates the two armies is like a graveyard, called no man’s land. Thomas and his brother, Charlie, have witnessed hundreds of young men lose their lives attempting to charge through ...more
Megan
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Shelves:
best-books-of-all-time
Words can't even describe how much this book means to me.
I would recommend it to anyone, especially to other history 'freaks' like me. As it is the type of book that lives on even after you turn the last page. No matter how many times I've read it, it never seems to lose my interest. It is a very popular book used in schools, but I think people of all ages can relate and feel connected in some way to this story and the characters within it, not just children.
After reading I ...more
I would recommend it to anyone, especially to other history 'freaks' like me. As it is the type of book that lives on even after you turn the last page. No matter how many times I've read it, it never seems to lose my interest. It is a very popular book used in schools, but I think people of all ages can relate and feel connected in some way to this story and the characters within it, not just children.
After reading I ...more
Why I decided to read this book.
I have actually read this book several times because i think its a great book and would be a good book to do my first blog on.
Which catergory on the bingo board this book complets. This book complets the 'a book that teaches you about another time in history' as this book is set in the first world war in the front lines of france bassed in the trench warefare.
What I liked about the book.
I liked many things about this book such a...more
I have actually read this book several times because i think its a great book and would be a good book to do my first blog on.
Which catergory on the bingo board this book complets. This book complets the 'a book that teaches you about another time in history' as this book is set in the first world war in the front lines of france bassed in the trench warefare.
What I liked about the book.
I liked many things about this book such a...more
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Interest level: 5th +
Reading level: easy, short book
Genre: historical fiction, World War I, WWI, soldiers
Read alikes: War Horse, Kensuke's Kingdom
Michael Morpurgo is one of my favorite authors, and this book is, in my opinion, one of his best. Incredibly, "Private Peaceful" is Michael Morpurgo's 100th book.
"Private Peaceful"is a short and easy read but, boy, the story will stay with you for a long, long time. It takes place during WWI when m...more
Reading level: easy, short book
Genre: historical fiction, World War I, WWI, soldiers
Read alikes: War Horse, Kensuke's Kingdom
Michael Morpurgo is one of my favorite authors, and this book is, in my opinion, one of his best. Incredibly, "Private Peaceful" is Michael Morpurgo's 100th book.
"Private Peaceful"is a short and easy read but, boy, the story will stay with you for a long, long time. It takes place during WWI when m...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I first read "Private Peaceful" when I was about ten years old and I remember that it had a great impression on me. I borrowed it from the school library without particularly high expectations. I had read some of Morpurgo's work before and although I had enjoyed it I recall thinking that this book looked decidely dull. However, when I began to read the story I found it to be both historically interesting and fantastically gripping. It was the first book that really made me cry which ju...more
In the beginning, Thomas “Tommo” Peaceful goes to school with his older brother Charlie, and where the teachers are very strict. Tommo’s dad died from saving Tommo’s life when something was about to fall on him. Big Joe is his brother, but he has brain damage and Tommo and his brother trick him into eating things and they would say it was something else. His mom got a job at the Colonel’s big house. So Grandma Wolf arrives but she isn’t really her grandmother. Grandma Wolf disrespects Big Joe be...more
Im 13, and we read this book in my english class. Before I read this I never understood WW1 and WW2 but it opened my eyes to the suffering and sadness of it all. I think the author was brilliant to not go straight to the trenches, but go through Tommo's whole life first. I became to love Tommo alot as he grew up, and Charlie too. When they go to war it is just so miserable and sad and I now think all soldiers in the war, and ww2 were complete heroes and dont get enough credit for what they did f...more
by Cesar
I am reading the book Private Peaceful for my intervention class. I am not yet finished reading it but it's a great book of a young boy growing up on the country side. It starts out that he is at the war and as every chapter passes he says something about the current moment and remembers his whole life for the rest of the chapter. His childhood just keeps going on and years pass until when he is recruited to the army. He remembers the days he has spent and the horrible battle...more
I am reading the book Private Peaceful for my intervention class. I am not yet finished reading it but it's a great book of a young boy growing up on the country side. It starts out that he is at the war and as every chapter passes he says something about the current moment and remembers his whole life for the rest of the chapter. His childhood just keeps going on and years pass until when he is recruited to the army. He remembers the days he has spent and the horrible battle...more
This was one of the first books I read and I was truely amazed by how much you can link together in one book and how many times you can say something that is taken so flipantely but only chapters later so discover it was such a crutial part of the book. Besides the brave faces and the hidden truth, the curage and cowardice and the reality of what I am sure many men had to go through in the war from Private Peaceful there are so many twists and unexpectful happenings that althought they confuse t...more
Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo is a coming-of-age novel (grades 7 and older) that sets readers up for the dreary and devastating life of a young boy, Tommy Peaceful, whose father dies unexpectedly at work as a forester. Tommy and his brother Charlie are inseparable, and their other brother Big Joe has special needs and is often protected by the family whether it is in the school yard or at home from their Great Aunt. Tommo tells the story in a series of flashbacks about his father’s deat...more
Recommended for grades 7 and up, Private Peaceful tells the story of Thomas Peaceful, an English teen during World War I who was too young to fight, but lied about his age to join the war effort. It is haunting the way this book draws the reader into Thomas's life both before and during World War I. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn about his early years, his relationships with his family, his motivations. In the end we see just how devastating the war was on Thomas's friends and family.
...more
I will tell it straight up - this is a sad story. I didn't know what I was getting into by reading this book, but by saying that I do not regret reading this book at all. I chose it because I do like to read war stories and this one was. It was also by the author of "War Horse" (Michael Morpurgo) which I enjoyed very much. Yes, it is a good story and very well written. It does fool you, though. But I don't want to give away the plot too much.
The story is about Priv...more
The story is about Priv...more
A very quick read that gives a good insight into the basics of the First World War (trench warfare, conditions, enlisting to name a few) for younger readers. Morpurgo has a wonderful writing style which is a pleasure to read. This book had a few main characters, all of which served their purpose and were believable. The story was touching, as all about war are, and it was good to see the issue of court marshall being brought into a Great War story.
Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo is a historical fiction novel about a British family that has two boys that decide to fight for England during World War One. Charlie and Thomas(main character) thought it was a great decision to go fight for their country until they saw the horror in trench warfare. This novel supplied me with a lot of background information about trench warfare during World War One. I would certainly recommend this novel to future Indie-readers because it provided a great v...more
I was recommended this book by a friend and I'm so glad I took her up on the recommendation. The story is told in chapters counting down time until something happens. The Narrator Tommo Peaceful, lets the reader know the whole story will be told.
Tommo reflects on his life from his early childhood, his mother, his late father, his "slow" brother Big Joe and his brother Charlie. Tommo's relationship with Charlie is very touching. Tommo also discusses the love of his life (and his brothe...more
Tommo reflects on his life from his early childhood, his mother, his late father, his "slow" brother Big Joe and his brother Charlie. Tommo's relationship with Charlie is very touching. Tommo also discusses the love of his life (and his brothe...more
Mollyd
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
My Fellow Students ! - And The People Who Used 2 go 2 my old skool !
i learnt to exept true love wen u see it, and to try to not get in the way of it, however much it hurts u !
and also wat it must of been like to have a disabled brother in the first world war, and how distressing it must be ! not that it wanst distressing anyway ! i think it is one of the most brillian books i have ever read !
x
and also wat it must of been like to have a disabled brother in the first world war, and how distressing it must be ! not that it wanst distressing anyway ! i think it is one of the most brillian books i have ever read !
x
When I was reading this book, there was never a time where I wanted to put the book down. This is one of those short and sweet books that you can finish on a rainy day or a long night where you have nothing better to do. This book has a very special setting. Private Thomas Peaceful is spending one short night, his brother's last night, to recall his entire life. About two thirds of the book is recalling his childhood and early teenage years, which are filled with his mother, two brothers, and hi...more
This is one of those books that's been on my tbr pile for years. It's been highly acclaimed and I found it really did live up to the hype surrounding it. A teenage Thomas Peaceful looks back over his childhood from the battlefields of the First World War. But the clock is ticking towards an event that epitomises both the tragedy and brutality of war. It's a moving and poignant tale, that holds the reader in suspense right up until 6am on the fateful day, and challenges one to think about the con...more
Whenever I think of or see this book, my heart melts. I first got the book about two years ago because I was going through a morpurgo obsession and I was getting every one of his books. All his books are great - and I loved Private Peaceful.
Then last night I picked it up again, and read it through. I found that I appreciated it more and up until now I have been trying to think, what is my favourite book? Well, last night I discovered it. I laughed, smiled and cried buckets. I was sat ther...more
Then last night I picked it up again, and read it through. I found that I appreciated it more and up until now I have been trying to think, what is my favourite book? Well, last night I discovered it. I laughed, smiled and cried buckets. I was sat ther...more
Johanna
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review of another edition
Shelves:
challenge-i-spy-title,
challenge2012
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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This was assigned reading for a young adult literature workshop I attended. Loved it. Gave it to my adult son, a history buff. I thought it was lyrically written, interesting history, a great book for discussion, an all-around winner.
Still not sure about this one. We trace the life of Tommy Peaceful as he grows up during the early 1900s in England. He and his family live on an estate and work for the Colonel. We watch all sorts of childhool tribulations (cruel classmates, crush on a girl who winds up with the older brother, death of a parent, older sibling who has mental health issues). The book plods along from one vignette to the next until World War I. Both Tommy and his older brother Charlie enlist and the book beco...more
I am not a fan of war stories, and probably would never have picked this up if not for needing to teach it. The beginning was an easy read, but the middle was a bit of a drag. I didn't really like to get into the minds of young soldiers as they held their guns and trudged through bloodshed and Golgatha.
However, I can imagine that the story would stick in my mind for years to come. The ending was dramatic and stole a few tears. It spoke of a brother's love for his younger sibling, as...more
However, I can imagine that the story would stick in my mind for years to come. The ending was dramatic and stole a few tears. It spoke of a brother's love for his younger sibling, as...more
I like Michael Morpurgo, but not always. This book falls close to the "not always" category, mainly because it is constantly gloomy. Gloomy is always a feature of his writing but the story of a rural family and the two brothers who end up in the trenches at Ypres.
What stops me putting this book completely in the "not always" category is the description of life for the family as workers in a large estate. Dependent on good health of the employee the whims of the "...more
What stops me putting this book completely in the "not always" category is the description of life for the family as workers in a large estate. Dependent on good health of the employee the whims of the "...more
BEST BOOK EVEEEER! I realy love this book and have read it over 10 times. It is such a well wrote book and the author knows how to describe the war in such a great way. Anthing by michael morpurgo is great! READ THIS BOOK!
A stunning story about two brothers who respond to the call to arms in World War I, the events that they experience prior to this obviously shape their future actions. In this novel, the author skillfully pulls at our emotions by telling this story through a first-person narrative. in this way, you can get a better sense of the hopes and fears that a young soldier had while he experienced the horrors of a war that no one seemed to really understand or want. I found the book to be equally interes...more
Lucy Smith
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review of another edition
Shelves:
beautifully-written,
childhood,
childrens-fiction,
growing-up,
friendship,
love,
ww1,
ya,
one-to-read
What a brilliant, moving book. Seamlessly written - I read this in one afternoon/evening. And it is so very touching. Although Michael Morpurgo is an acclaimed children's author I would have no hesitation recommending this to adults too.
I don't want to give anything away, but anyone who is incensed by the futility of war should read this book. I know there are many out there, but this hits the nail on the head in all the categories that you might think of that make a good book.
...more
I don't want to give anything away, but anyone who is incensed by the futility of war should read this book. I know there are many out there, but this hits the nail on the head in all the categories that you might think of that make a good book.
...more
When I discover a new author whom I find a good read I often search out other books by that same person. This one and the previous one I read Kensuke's Kingdom were the ones by this author with the most acclaim. This one carries a strong message that not everyone in positions of power are wise or generous. Two brothers forced into WWI at a very young age of 17 or less, find friends and foes in their company. but their love for their own family and for their friends helps carry them through ...more
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Michael Morpurgo is the author of many books for children, five of which have been made into films. He also writes his own screenplays and libretti for opera. Born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, in 1943, he was evacuated to Cumberland during the last years of the war, then returned to London, moving later to Essex. After a brief and unsuccessful spell in the army, he took up teaching and started to ...more
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“We're much alike, bee, you and me," I said. "You may carry your pack underneath you and your rifle may stick out of your bottom. But you and me, bee, are much alike.”
—
9 people liked it
“Being his real brother I could feel I live in his shadows, but I never have and I do not now. I live in his glow.”
—
3 people liked it
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