Light Horse Boy (Dianne Wolfer, illus by Brian Simmonds, Fremantle Press)

Light Horse Boy is the story of a young Anzac and his journey through World War I. Jim is only 17 when he signs up for the army, admitted because of his superior riding skills and way with horses. Through small bursts of narrative, interspersed with his letters home, we learn about the life of a soldier. Jim survives the landing in Gallipoli, travels to Egypt and then goes on to fight in the Battle of Beersheba as part of the Light Horse Brigade. Jim joins the army as a young man in search of adventure, but by the end of the years of fighting he sees more and more of the futility of war. Early encounters with wounded German troops shock him into realising that the wounded men are young boys just like him. The book is full of photographs, letters, telegrams and illustrations, which make this an engaging narrative nonfiction text for primary-aged children. Readers learn everything about the Light Horse Brigade through Jim’s eyes, which makes the information easier to absorb. This would be a good book to give to young readers who are only interested in nonfiction—it has the facts but it also has the narrative elements as well.  

Amelia Vahtrick is the children’s book buyer at Better Read Than Dead in Newtown

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

Category: Reviews