Stay Where You Are And Then Leave

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Although I'm not an expert on rating children's literature, I would say that this book would be appropriate for most children over the age of 8. The day the First World War broke out, Alfie Summerfield's father promised he wouldn't go away to fight - but he broke that promise the following day.

Het hoofdpersonage in ‘De jongen in de gestreepte pyjama’, ook maar acht à negen jaar oud, kwam zoveel geloofwaardiger over. Alfie has taken it upon himself to start a business shining shoes in King's Cross Station because, although his mother Margie is working as a nurse, she is barely earning enough for food, even though her work allows little time for sleep. I grew up watching war films and Dad's Army, so I'd love to read more novels set during that period of history. At his fifth birthday party, there is a sense of anticipation and fear in the air among the grownups in his life, which worries him. I'm sure a lot of readers today will relate to Alfie - there are still men, women and children dying in wars, there are still people who live in the fear of never seeing one of their friends or family again.Boyne brings nothing new to the table when discussing the daily life of WWI and this take feels like it lacked originality. It wasn't until a chance meeting, while he was shining the shoes of a doctor, that he came to learn that his father was very much alive and was in a hospital that was just a train ride away. Su padre (Georgie) se alista en el ejército y pasarán cuatro años hasta que reciba noticias de él, ya que su madre (Margie) es reacia a dárselas. And then there are a small minority of books that take hold of your mind or your heart (or both) and simply refuse to let go.

Readers' impressions on this book will largely vary based on their feelings toward our main character, Alfie. Among my most popular books are The Heart’s Invisible Furies, A Ladder to the Sky and My Brother’s Name is Jessica. While secretly working as a shoeshine boy to help his mother put food on the table during WW1, the nine year old lad discovers an important clue regarding his father's whereabouts and plans a secret mission resulting in his first ever train ride and some pretty unnerving experiences when he arrives at his destination.I also liked the way the story is focused especially on the war's impact on these people and how or if they managed to recover. This moving and uplifting story is also about the devastating effect of blindly following old rigid ways of thinking, where ‘shell shock’ is another word for cowardice; where people with foreign names suddenly become hated German spies – even if they’ve been neighbours for years; and where conscientious objectors deserve to be beaten up. For me, the conchies were also proof that there are different kinds of bravery, and that it's not because you don't throw yourself in front of the gunshots that you're not brave.

A Heyday/ Miramax film adaptation, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, was shot in Budapest in mid-2007 and released in late 2008. The novel is particularly suitable for pupils at Key Stage 3 and could also be used with a high ability Year 6 class.Suddenly Alfie realises that his father may be alive after all and being treated in a nearby hospital. Georgie’s wife and mother are devastated, but Georgie says there's nothing to worry about, that they say the war will “be all over by Christmas. Alfie is only nine years old, so he escapes battle, but what's most heartbreaking to me is that he has no idea that he'll be forced to experience exactly what Georgie has been through in 21 years time when World War II breaks out.

This is a compelling story, beautifully observed, which covers difficult themes such as shellshock and loss in a sensitive and understanding way. If you know about The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, you'll know I pretty much cried when I saw the movie. While Alfie was trying to find a way out he was lead to a beautiful garden, where there was a group of men in wheelchairs. But within a few weeks, Alfie’s father joined the fight, and although everyone said “It will be over by Christmas” they didn’t specify WHICH Christmas.There is one scene in particular which really made me chuckle, as Alfie finds himself shining the shoes of the British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, chatting away to him with no clue at all as to who he is talking to. Bewildered and confused, Alfie realises his father is in a hospital close by – a hospital treating soldiers with an unusual condition. However, the listed ingredients were entirely fictional, being taken from the 2017 videogame The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and included items such as the "silent princess" flower, "octorok eyeballs", and "the tail of the red lizalfos". I don't read children's literature much these days but this book, Stay Where You Are and Then Leave by John Boyne caught my eye.