4.26 STARS from 90 GoodReaders
A MEDAL FOR LEROY
is a book that you are likely to hear a lot about. It's a story that
spans the Two Great World Wars of the last century, and most of the
adult reviewers at GoodReads and Amazon.UK and -US have been raving about it.
Backstory
There
is more than one backstory as Morpurgo has chosen a
story-within-a-story format. I'll leave WWI alone, as that is where
some of the mystery of of this book resides, and instead begin with the
main character, a boy of mixed-race named Michael.
Now
normally I wouldn't mention anything about a character's "race", but
it's important within the context of this book, because A MEDAL FOR LEROY is about the evils of racial prejudice. And certainly those evils were in play during the World Wars.
The book begins with Michael's situation. He's called "Poodle" by his school mates, but it doesn't bother Michael much because he gets along well with them. Michael lives with his mom, and the only other family members he knows are two aunts. The women who raised his father.
Michael's father isn't around because he died crossing the channel, and that's essentially all that the boy knows because the women in his life are keeping everything about his father's life and death a secret--except for the fact that he had been in the military, and he had won medals.
And so, the book is about the unrolling of these secrets.
Now something about the target audience.
I have seen magazines and other sources suggest this book for children as young as 10 years of age. My reaction would be: no, no, no. A MEDAL FOR LEROY is very slow to start. There are at least 68 pages before Michael sits down and begins reading the history his aunts finally reveal to him.
Before that we just get a kids-eye view of Michael's world; with the highs and lows of school life, and how he loves his aunts but isn't particularly thrilled with the visits to them, except for getting to play with their dog. So unless you have a very patient Tween, I'd suggest this book for a much older reader.
Homeschoolers and teachers might want to use this book in conjunction with a history unit, but I don't feel it would be a particularly good choice as there is not a great deal of era specific information provided. There are no descriptions of life during or between the wars, for example, and nothing in the tone of the writing that would give children a 'feel for how things were'. The author's focus is on character, instead of time and place.
For example, Michael's mother takes him to a "Milk Bar" but there's no description at all of what it looks like inside. And we aren't told about the Nazi bombings, nor the deprivation that the British endured.
I think instead that the book might better be used as a Social Studies supplement to a unit on Prejudice --assuming it wasn't just being read for the joy of it. (Please point out that in the past that the heroic deeds of women and racial minorities were kept out of historical accounts because of prejudice.)
The book begins with Michael's situation. He's called "Poodle" by his school mates, but it doesn't bother Michael much because he gets along well with them. Michael lives with his mom, and the only other family members he knows are two aunts. The women who raised his father.
Michael's father isn't around because he died crossing the channel, and that's essentially all that the boy knows because the women in his life are keeping everything about his father's life and death a secret--except for the fact that he had been in the military, and he had won medals.
And so, the book is about the unrolling of these secrets.
Now something about the target audience.
I have seen magazines and other sources suggest this book for children as young as 10 years of age. My reaction would be: no, no, no. A MEDAL FOR LEROY is very slow to start. There are at least 68 pages before Michael sits down and begins reading the history his aunts finally reveal to him.
Before that we just get a kids-eye view of Michael's world; with the highs and lows of school life, and how he loves his aunts but isn't particularly thrilled with the visits to them, except for getting to play with their dog. So unless you have a very patient Tween, I'd suggest this book for a much older reader.
Homeschoolers and teachers might want to use this book in conjunction with a history unit, but I don't feel it would be a particularly good choice as there is not a great deal of era specific information provided. There are no descriptions of life during or between the wars, for example, and nothing in the tone of the writing that would give children a 'feel for how things were'. The author's focus is on character, instead of time and place.
For example, Michael's mother takes him to a "Milk Bar" but there's no description at all of what it looks like inside. And we aren't told about the Nazi bombings, nor the deprivation that the British endured.
I think instead that the book might better be used as a Social Studies supplement to a unit on Prejudice --assuming it wasn't just being read for the joy of it. (Please point out that in the past that the heroic deeds of women and racial minorities were kept out of historical accounts because of prejudice.)
CONCLUSION
A MEDAL FOR LEROY is a story about love and prejudice. On one level the characters love and caring for one another is uplifting and heartwarming. But counterpoint to that is the infuriating prejudice that caused the characters so much pain.
I'd suggest this book for older readers. As I said, it's a bit slow to start, and the story is more thoughtful than action filled. [[It's not, in my opinion, a guy-read. Although there will be guys, of course, that love it.]]
A MEDAL FOR LEROY is a story about love and prejudice. On one level the characters love and caring for one another is uplifting and heartwarming. But counterpoint to that is the infuriating prejudice that caused the characters so much pain.
I'd suggest this book for older readers. As I said, it's a bit slow to start, and the story is more thoughtful than action filled. [[It's not, in my opinion, a guy-read. Although there will be guys, of course, that love it.]]
Pam~
A MEDAL FOR LEROY
by Michael Morpurgo
Reading Information:
Word Count: 22,476
Accelerated Reader: 5.1 / points: 3.0
ARquiz: 164037
Lexile: 860L
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