Farm Boy (novel)
| Author | Michael Morpurgo |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | James Anderson |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | War Horse |
| Genre | Historical Fiction, Animals, Children's |
| Published | 1997 Pavilion Books |
| Pages | 112 |
| ISBN | |
| Preceded by | War Horse |
Farm Boy is a novel by Michael Morpurgo, best known as being the sequel to the popular novel War Horse. The book was first published in the United Kingdom in 1997 by Pavilion Books Limited and is illustrated by Michael Foreman. It was not initially planned for Morpurgo to write a sequel to War Horse, but the story was inspired after receiving many enquiries about what happens to Joey, a horse in service of the Army (the main character from War Horse) after the Great War. In an article in ChronicleLive Michael Morpurgo also stated that his favorite of his own works was Farm Boy. The book captures modern life on a farm in rural Devon, where Michael Morpurgo lives, while having retrospective flashbacks to the lives of Albert and Joey (characters from War Horse). He stated in the article in ChronicleLive:
“I think Farm Horse because it’s about my home and because I know every lane, every hedge and every field in the book because it’s right outside my window. It’s very close to my heart and Michael Foreman’s illustrations are simply to die for. He really responded to it beautifully.”
Farm Boy was republished in 1999 by Harper Collins Children's Books.
Main protagonist – a young boy, who grows over the course of the story to become a young adult. He is the great-grandson of Albert. He lives in London, but often visits Grandpa over the summer and enjoys listening to his stories as well as helping him around the farm.
Grandpa – The grandfather of the protagonist and the son of Albert. He regularly tells stories to the protagonist about his life and the stories he learned of his Father.
Albert/Father/Corporal – The father of Grandpa and the original owner of Joey. He is a character from the book War Horse as well as this book. From when he first met Joey, he deeply cared about him, and went to extreme lengths to keep him safe and by his side. Albert is never referred to by his first name in the book. Instead he is either called Father by Grandpa, or the "Corporal" by townsfolk.
Joey – the younger horse owned by Albert and the main protagonist from the prequel War Horse. While the first book is narrated by Joey, Farm Boy is narrated entirely by humans, and so Joey is more realistic in a sense from this book’s perspective.
Zoey – An old mare and the second horse that Albert owns. Zoey is older than Joey by about 5 years and was on Albert’s farm when Albert was a child before Joey.
Harry Medlicott – A rich neighbouring farmer. In the course of the book he begins to dispute with Albert, believing that his new tractor is far superior to Albert’s horses Joey and Zoey.
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