Tag Archive | Walker Books

I Am Rebel by Ross Montgomery

Choose Love

I Am Rebel by Ross Montgomery is a powerful children’s novel that I loved. It is perfect for ages eight years and over.

The novel explores the twin themes of love and loyalty as farm-dog Rebel, sets out in search of his twelve-year-old master, Tom. “He [Tom] is my everything. He’s my nights and my mornings and all my hours inbetween.”

Rebel believes that Tom needs saving, not only from war but from himself. “I have to fight for him… I love him. I have to save him, like he saved me.”

Along the way, Rebel meets characters who help him – a stray dog; a mouse; a pig; a donkey; and a little girl and her grandfather. All become a part of Rebel’s story, whilst having their own individual stories.

Rebel learns about the Companion. “Wherever I go, the Companion walks beside me… The Companion led each of us into this world, they will lead us out of it again… They will walk beside you, always.” The Companion is the canine version of the Holy Spirit.

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The Mozart Question by Michael Morpurgo

Powerful

The Mozart Question by Michael Morpurgo is a powerful children’s novel. It is perfect for ages ten years and over.

This is a tale simply but powerfully told. It introduces the reader to the power of music, memories and the holocaust. It is written in such a way as to inform but not to scare children into having nightmares.

Music transports us through time and space. We hear a piece of music and are immediately back somewhere in time. When that place is a concentration camp, we know why certain music is avoided as it causes great pain.

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The Miraculous Journey Of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

Charming

The Miraculous Journey Of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo is an absolutely charming children’s story, perfect for ages five and over.

It is a story about awakening a heart and learning what love is. A closed heart is a closed life. A heart that loves, lives.

The main protagonist is a china rabbit. We follow his adventures as he adapts and changes.

The novel is beautifully illustrated with the most charming pictures.

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