OK, this one is a "children's book, " but an important one, a far cry from the 'saddle club' books. A poignant and heartbreaking look into a piece of not-so-distant history. Yup, I cried.

From School Library Journal

Gr 5-8-Since he was a young colt, Joey has been loved and cared for by Alber, a young English farm boy. At the beginning of Wold War I, Albert's father sells Joey to a captain in the cavalry. The boy is devastated and promises Joey that someday he will find him. Joey experiences army life and the disastrous consequences of a cavalry charge into machine guns. He is captured as a prisoner of war and becomes a hospital cart transport horse for the German army. The he's used by the German soldiers to pull gun carts through the muddy trenches. Joey bolts after his friend Topthorn dies. He ends up in no-man's land between the trenches. By a coin toss, he becomes again the property of the English. Joey is taken to a veterinary hospital where he is reunited with Albert. As the soldiers from both sides of the conflict share their thoughts and feelings with Joey, listeners get unique and perceptive views of World War I. John Keating's' different accents are pitch perfect as he draws listeners into the story (Scholastic, 1982) by Michael Morpurgo. An excellent choice for fans of historical fiction.-Samantha Larsen Hastings, Riverton Library, UT

Booklist
Like Morpurgo's Private Peaceful (2004), this searing World War I novel reveals the unspeakable slaughter of soldiers on all sides fighting against people who are just like them. The story is told by an English farm horse, Joey, and, as in Cynthia Kadahota's Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam (2007), the first-person narrative blends the animal's physical experience with what men say. On the farm, Joey has close ties to Albert, who is too young to join up when his dad first sells Joey to the army. Charging into battle under machine-gun fire, Joey is captured by the Germans, who train him to haul ambulances and guns. His reunion with Albert in battle is sentimental and contrived, but the viewpoint brings close the fury of the thundering guns, the confusion, and the kindness of enemies who come together in No Man's Land to save the wounded horse. Joey's ability to understand the language wherever he is--England, France, Germany--reinforces the novel's antiwar message, and the terse details speak eloquently about peace. Hazel Rochman

Barely made the final cut as I whittled down the number of books migrating in the WILD THINGS bookbox~ I'd pulled this initially, then as I realized while I evened out the kinds of wild things, I'd taken out way more fiction than non.

Chose this book from erishkigal's WILD THINGs Bookbox 2017 as one of two "extras" allowed to reduce it's size. I have loved horses since I was a little girl, and I think I still have my collection of horse figurines in the attic somewhere, if they haven't melted in the heat of many AZ summers. Unbelievably...I only just recently became familiar with this author, after trying to find some books written by him to fill some wishes for several students in fellow BCer MissMarkey's Library Club Class. I haven't read anything he's written, and I do love to read Children's Books and then donate them, but for now...this one's for me!!! : D THANK YOU for including me in your Bookbox, erishkigal!!! ; ) http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/12702832

Filling the reader with the entire gamut of human emotions, this EXCELLENT story of life experience during the tumultuous time when the world was torn apart by the First World War, is told from the horse's perspective!!! While not about war, this book very much reminded me of "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein that I "listened" to not long ago https://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/10533410 , from the standpoint that it is told from a dog's perspective. There are many books, for many ages, written from the unique perspective of an animal's point of view, and I look forward to reading more of them in the future. In the meantime, I'm sending this book as a RABCK KTM surprise, perhaps along with a few others, to a fellow BCer and her nine children...a little birdie told me that there is at least one horse lover among the crowd ; )...as part of several different Release Challenges, including Secretariat's NJABBIC Release Challenge, and msrubble's Movie Books Release Challenge, booklady331's KTM Callenge, among others. I will add the links when I make the official release notes.

Here is list of other books written from an animal's viewpoint from Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/12395.Best_Books_Written_from_an_Animal_s_POV

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

HAPPY READING! : )

To the finder of this book:

This book is gift, no strings attached, from me to you. You may keep it forever, pass it along to a friend, or release it into the wild to be found by someone else.

If you are new to BookCrossing, welcome! Enjoy the site, the book, and the BookCrossing community. I hope you'll join us...it's free! If you do, please consider using me, elizardbreath, as your referring member. You can even remain anonymous if you wish!

I hope you'll make a brief journal entry so all the previous and future readers can track this book's journey.

Thanks, and Happy BookCrossing! :)