Written at a time when foot-and-mouth was very much in the news, as farmers across the UK fell victim to an outbreak that was to leave potent images of blazing carcasses deeply embedded in many minds, Morpurgo cleverly manages to avoid a feeling of haste in his writing (although the book was actually written very quickly, and as a reaction to Morpurgo's own experiences as co-founder of Farms For City Children), by giving the reader a thorough and poignant insight into what it is really like for farmers waiting to find out if they are about to lose their livelihoods.

This is a brilliant little book. Although it is aimed at a young audience, the emotions within are deeply touching and in no way are they diminished to soften the blow for the younger reader. The story is a very short one, but very powerfully written. It grasps the tragedy of the foot and mouth epidemic and gives an emotional picture of how the farming community suffered, not just the adults, but their children too. Despite taking less than an hour to read, this little book brought tears to my eyes.

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