A weeper about family secrets, inspired by the fact there was only one black officer to serve in the British Army in WW1. Michael grows up without his father, who died in WW2. His only connections to him are his mother and two elderly aunties. But years after Auntie Snowdrop's death, Michael finds a letter to him from her that explains much more about who his father was and the real story of their family history. The prose is lyrical and unassuming, and yet the story is rich with complexity. I actually have difficulty seeing it as written for children but the themes of love, family and identity are presented in a way they would understand. Lovely, but hard to place except maybe in the hands of gifted readers. ( )

Another great historical novel from Michael Morpurgo, this one inspired by the life of Walter Tull the first black officer to serve in the British Army in the First World War. ( )

A touching book about the importance of family and how the knowledge of family can help shape you. I liked how Morpurgo tied the father and son together even though neither had known the other. I think that middle schoolers might be less impressed with the book than I was. They probably will not know much, if anything, about the two wars, but they might be able to understand the racial issues. ( )

I love Michael Morpurgo. He is a wonderful writer. I was captivated at once and sadly finished the book in a flash. I really wish it had lasted longer. A great choice for kids looking for an historical novel for their book report. ( )

A MEDAL FOR LEROY is a nice story but I have to say that the recommended guidelines given for it are more than a bit skewed.

For 10 year olds. Really?

I mean we have some really horrendous prejudice going on in this book, and there's a mother pretending that her baby belonged to someone else (who was killed), and people shacking up, and lying for decades; and I can't imagine that a 10 year old would be fascinated by this, nor that every parent would want to sit down and have to explain 'how these things happen'.

The story itself is one that adults and Young Adults should like. The setting isn't very well described so it really could have taken place at any time. And the story within a story really works for this tale.

A MEDAL FOR LEROY is very slow to start. The first 68 pages basically are used to describe Micheal's life with his mother, two aunts and their dog. But after that, the history gains momentum.

--I don't recommend it as a history supplement. There's really nothing that attaches the story the time frame covered, other than the specific mention of dates and the wars.
--It certainly could be used as the basis of a discussion of prejudice and how insidiously evil it is. ( )