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Wednesday 23rd January
Oswestry Reads

Oswestry School Promotes Private Peaceful 

 

As part of Oswestry’s ‘Big Read’, promoting the National Year of Reading, Oswestry School is championing Private Peaceful, by Michael Morpurgo.

 

Private Peaceful is set during the First World War It tells the story of Private Thomas “Tommo” Peaceful, who lied about his age in order to join up. Tommo wants to be with his older brother, Charlie, who was bullied into enlisting by the spiteful local squire.

 

Waiting in the horror of the trenches before the next futile attack, Tommo remembers his growing up and his family. He overcomes his former jealousy of Charlie for marrying Molly, Tommo’s childhood sweetheart and realises that Charlie has never let him down.

 

Michael Morpurgo is one of the country’s foremost children’s authors and was Children’s Laureate from 2003-05. Many Oswestry School pupils will remember him for his visit to the School last May, during the Sexcentenary celebrations. Private Peaceful carries the reader on a wave of emotion; it is honest about the terrible conditions endured by ordinary soldiers in the trenches, but it is also full of optimism and hope.  Here are the comments of some of the student reviewers:

 

Lucy Whitthread Year 7
“Private Peaceful is a gripping novel by the fantastic writer Michael Morpurgo. It is set in the First World War. It is a story of innocence, love, courage and cowardice.”

 

Charles Fryer- Stevens Year 7
“Private Peaceful was Michael Morpurgo’s 100th book. It is a great novel told through the voice of a young soldier called Tommo Peaceful. My personal rating gives it * * * * *.”

 

Isabelle Makin Year 7
“No matter how many times I read it I still cry. I really thought I was with Tommo all the way. I taste his first mug of sweet tea in the stinking, dilapidated trench, I smell the deadly mustard gas, I hear the sound of silence waiting for the Germans to attack. Honestly the best book I have ever read.”

 

Cian Roche Year 11
“From when I first opened this book I knew I would find it hard to put it down. You could swear the account was coming straight from the mouth of an actual grunt down in the trenches. I found this book highly enjoyable and look forward to reading more Michael Morpurgo.”


Oswestry Reads
Oswestry Reads was launched at the start of 2008, as an incentive to get people reading. It is a joint project organised by Oswestry Library, the Advertizer, local schools, colleges and businesses and the health service. There is a shortlist of five books, from which the winning title will be chosen and announced on World Book Day, March 6th. Oswestry School is sponsoring Private Peaceful. The other titles are: Prince Caspian (C S Lewis), The Seeing Stone (Kevin Crossley-Holland), Framed (Frank Cotterell Boyce) and Carrie’s War (Nina Bawden). All five books are available in Oswestry School Library.