Every adult should read at least one children's book by this author. A very well presented story of what could have been a true tale based on previous un-known facts. Well written but then this authors work always is, it only took me one night to read and enjoyed it very much. My rating (for children's reading) 8.5 out of 10

This is the lowest I have rated a book for a long time, and I hate to do it, but I promised myself I would always be totally honest with my reviews. There was much to recommend this book, but for me it fell short. I did enjoy the story, and was fascinated to learn about the real life people who had inspired it. This story felt to me as if I was being told, not shown, what happened. It was all about how Poodle found out about his family, in retrospect, through letters etc. It was too far removed for me to feel really invested. This is the first Michael Morpurgo I've read. I've heard such good things about him that I'm sure I'll like other titles better.