Sergeant Reckless: The True Story of the Little Horse Who Became a Hero
Written by Patricia McCormick
Illustrated by Iacopo Bruno
This has been the first (and so far only) non fictional picture book with a horse from history that was in war. This story takes place during the Korean War, which is one (war) we didn't study in history class when I was in school so I didn't know much about it. The book focuses telling about how this one horse who was abandoned in the time of the war came to find a home with some marines. When the marines found this horse they named Reckless she was starving and ate everything in sight. This continued through the book and my kids and I laughed in amazement at all this horse was eating and how much she became part of the platoon. They trained her to help haul ammunition. Her story is one that will show how smart, strong, and emphatic these creatures are.
Patricia McCormick has done a wonderful job in collecting the information on Reckless and in sharing her story. It's written well and pulls children (and adults) into the pages. Iacopo Bruno did a beautiful job in the illustrations. The colors aren't bright and vibrant, but rather dull and a lot of natural colors that set the tone and place the feeling and setting for young readers. This isn't a bright and cheery story, even though there are funny antidotes. The details in the illustrations give so much attention to the the horse and this war. Bruno did an amazing job in pouring the emotions felt from McCormick's words into each and every page.
Sergeant Reckless is a book that I hugged after I finished reading it the first time. I was emotional and couldn't give the book enough praise.
This is a true story and it's worth it to take the time to read the Author's Note at the end of the book to gather even more details about how this brave horse came to become a hero.
If the book has moved you as it has for my children and myself you may want to put on your bucket list to take them to see her life-sized statue at the National Museum of the Marine Corps.
Moving up from picture books my other book I want to share with you in now a major motion picture which you may have seen, but the book was here first and is well worth the read (of course I think it's far superior than the movie).
War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
This chapter book is one that I had on my book shelf for years, finally one cold winter day I decided to read it because the movie was out and I had to read the book before I could watch the movie. I fell in love with the story. I couldn't put it down and finished it in a day. While this is considered a children's chapter book it is one for all ages.
War Horse is a unique and captivating story in that it's told through the eyes of a horse (Joey) during World War 1. This is probably what I like most in this book is that you are experiencing everything as the horse and you can feel all the fear, pain, and love. All the emotions were raw and deep.
There are no illustrations, and they are not needed for Michael paints vidivly with his words how the horse, boy and land look. You can see the battlefield, the mud and feel the strain of pulling a cannon and watch so much destruction.
Please go read this wonderful story, then when your children are the right age to grasp it read it with them. Then come back and check out the following articles about true stories behind this wonderful book and the real life Warhorses:
War Horse: The True Story
Michael Morpurgo on the Hidden History Behind the movie This article goes in depth into the horses in the film and Morpurgo's story and writing the book
The Real Life War Horse: the story of the Sergeant who refused to put down his faithful mount
Are you left wanting to read more about the animals who served alongside soldiers and who were an integral part of our history? So do I! I love these stories so if you know of one please drop the title and author in the comments of this post.
Patricia McCormick has done a wonderful job in collecting the information on Reckless and in sharing her story. It's written well and pulls children (and adults) into the pages. Iacopo Bruno did a beautiful job in the illustrations. The colors aren't bright and vibrant, but rather dull and a lot of natural colors that set the tone and place the feeling and setting for young readers. This isn't a bright and cheery story, even though there are funny antidotes. The details in the illustrations give so much attention to the the horse and this war. Bruno did an amazing job in pouring the emotions felt from McCormick's words into each and every page.
Sergeant Reckless is a book that I hugged after I finished reading it the first time. I was emotional and couldn't give the book enough praise.
This is a true story and it's worth it to take the time to read the Author's Note at the end of the book to gather even more details about how this brave horse came to become a hero.
If the book has moved you as it has for my children and myself you may want to put on your bucket list to take them to see her life-sized statue at the National Museum of the Marine Corps.
Moving up from picture books my other book I want to share with you in now a major motion picture which you may have seen, but the book was here first and is well worth the read (of course I think it's far superior than the movie).
War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
This chapter book is one that I had on my book shelf for years, finally one cold winter day I decided to read it because the movie was out and I had to read the book before I could watch the movie. I fell in love with the story. I couldn't put it down and finished it in a day. While this is considered a children's chapter book it is one for all ages.
War Horse is a unique and captivating story in that it's told through the eyes of a horse (Joey) during World War 1. This is probably what I like most in this book is that you are experiencing everything as the horse and you can feel all the fear, pain, and love. All the emotions were raw and deep.
There are no illustrations, and they are not needed for Michael paints vidivly with his words how the horse, boy and land look. You can see the battlefield, the mud and feel the strain of pulling a cannon and watch so much destruction.
Please go read this wonderful story, then when your children are the right age to grasp it read it with them. Then come back and check out the following articles about true stories behind this wonderful book and the real life Warhorses:
War Horse: The True Story
Michael Morpurgo on the Hidden History Behind the movie This article goes in depth into the horses in the film and Morpurgo's story and writing the book
The Real Life War Horse: the story of the Sergeant who refused to put down his faithful mount
Are you left wanting to read more about the animals who served alongside soldiers and who were an integral part of our history? So do I! I love these stories so if you know of one please drop the title and author in the comments of this post.
No comments:
Post a Comment