Private Peaceful

Private Peaceful


Caroline from Latymer Upper painted this watercolour postcard as a Creative Response to Private Peaceful:

TSBA_PrivatePeacefulpostcard1TSBA_PrivatePeacefulpostcard2

21 thoughts on “Private Peaceful

  1. This is an amazing book. Michael Morpurgo has a good imagination which makes this book seem lifelike. I tis very sad at the end when Charlie dies and helps people to understand how horrible this war was.

  2. Private Peaceful is one of Michael Morpurgo’ s best books and I found it hard to stop reading it. It was sad at the end when Carlie got killed because he disobeyed Sergeant Hanley’s order to go and fight instead of helping his brother. I would give a high rating to this book.

  3. This book was gripping my attention from the start. This is all because of the death of his father, it made me feel sympathetic, and so I kept reading to see if it would maintain that level. The first person narrative helped me empathise with Charlie and how the war affected so many innocent people of the world. I haven’t yet finished the book yet but I’m loving so much that I never want it to end.

  4. I thought this was a really good book as it gives the life of the characters before, after and during the war. This makes this book quite unique. The action and suspension in this book makes it really good and exciting! Most of the time you can empathize with the main characters in the story, this makes the book even more interesting. Also, one point in this book you feel worried and scared for a character, this book bring out emotions and is an amazing read. I recommend it to everyone who loves reading, anyone who loves action and emotion and anyone who loves war books. This book can also be very funny, for example, “Grandma Wolf hated mice. She had a deep fear of them that she could not hide. So Charlie and I had lots to smile about in the autumn when the rain and the cold came and the mice decided it was warmer inside and came to live with us in the cottage”.

  5. This book was very good to read. My favourite part of the book was at the end when he got shot in the back. It was very tense and dramatic. I like how they were telling us about Charlie and Tommo’s childhood in the small village and then having to go to war. There were many other parts of the story that I found interesting about this story such as Tommo’s love for Molly. The facts that it is based on a true event just makes it that much fascinating. I do feel like there was a lot of repetition during the book which took some of its power away.

  6. I thought this was a hard read as I am not the best of readers. I found the story line really good as both the brothers fall for the same girl. This keeps you reading as you want to know who gets the girl in the end. Another factor that keeps you reading on is that you want to find out if any of them survive.
    My favourite scene is when their father dies as it is a very descriptive chapter and is very sad as the father dies saving his son.

  7. I thought Private Peaceful was a bit over-rated, I think this because they could have described the settings much more closely. They used lots of basic words like “the grass was green”. I have read Morpurgo books and thought that his others descriptions were much more powerful.

    I also thought they should of described how Molly and Charlie got together. A few clues earlier in the book would have been useful because it seemed a bit out of the blue when it happened, it was a bit of a shock.

  8. Private peaceful
    I really found this book powerful and interesting even though there were sad parts to read such as Charlie being shot on the front line for apparent cowardice. The characters are so lovable. I am especially in awe of Tommo and how he steps up to look after his older late brother’s family. Despite his love for molly, he kept quiet about it to let his brother and his family have a happy future. I also love Charlie and respect his decision to stay with injured Tommo but as a result of this he ends up with a court martial and executed. I think the author particularly wrote the book well, referring to the past then at the end going back to the present tense.

  9. This book I thought was hard to read, because I had to think personal thoughts about our democracy and the hopelessness of war. The story was set in Devon and the WW1 battlefields of Flanders, the story is written. This story is about tommo the main character that is looking back in his life. This book wants you reading because the tension builds up. I would give this book a high rating of 9/10.

  10. Private Peaceful is a great book and I really enjoyed it, the idea of using two brothers (Tommo and Charlie Peaceful) to show how hard life was during the war was an outstanding idea. Also Tommo writes a diary about his brother and himself of the 18 years of “yesterdays and tomorrows” throughout the whole book, (his diary tended to be about Drama and romance) which Michael Morpurgo did a great job of. The story is so strong that when it came to the end I could almost cry. Overall I think that Michael Morpurgo put a lot of effort into writing this emotional and phenomenal book and that it is probably one of my favourite books so far. Rating: 5*

  11. Private Peaceful is a book of love, friendship, war and history; it takes you back to the time when Europe was at war, commonly known as World War I. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel, and it filled me with tears of sadness and surprise. The story of Thomas Peaceful was in fact true, as we read in the Author’s Note about the reality of his life.
    Love is an extremely strong aspect of the story, as we realise that both Charlie and Tommo are in love with Molly. It was a great plot twist, and it made me want to read more about the future relationsjips of the two brothers.
    After all, this novel talks about relationships on many levels: between Charlie, Tommo and Molly, between Bertha and Big Joe, and between Molly and her parents. It was very interesting to find out about the friendship between Molly and Tommo when Tommo realised Molly was pregnant with Charlie’s baby.
    Finally, Private Peaceful brings us back to the horrible war-torn years of World War I, and we learn about how unfair the armies were; of course Charlie was killed for disobeying Sergeant Hanley’s orders.
    This is one of the best by Morpurgo. I fail to be unimpressed.

  12. A very emotional book and is a great book to read which I strongly recommend. This book almost leaves me crying in tears. A very strong book with great action.

  13. ‘private peaceful’ is an extraordinary book based on world war one. Its shows the strong bonds of Charlie and Tommo Peaceful ,how even though they met so many factors that could have broken that bond such as love and jealously, their bond is still strong. Tommo’s life has been devastating because he suffers a lot like the death of his father and how his true love married his brother. He is also subjected to the death of Charlie and having to look after ‘Big Joe’ who is his mentally damaged oldest brother. When war broke out he is forced to fight in the trenches of France. This is Tommo reviewing his life until the night before he dies.

    Lily Year 8

  14. I have read Private Peaceful many times yet the story still doesn’t fail to almost make me cry. I think that it is quite a unique plot and Michael Morpurgo was very descriptive and made me feel as if I was actually in the story. When I picked up the book I didn’t put it down until I had finished. I had feelings for Charlie,Tommo and Molly and I felt their ups and downs. Tommo retells the story of most of his life in one night and he is counting down until six o’clock in the morning. At first I was confused about what he was counting down to. When I found out I really surprised and upset about what was going to happen I wanted to do something about it but you can’t rewrite the whole book!
    Overall I would DEFINITELY recommend this book!

  15. Private Peaceful has been very different for me. I have never read anything so gory. It isn’t that gory, seeing as the video games or movies available for hardcore gore enthusiasts. I particularly liked the way it started, with Tommo at home, going to school, being friends with Molly. I then found it started to drag on. As he gradually grows up, I find myself getting more and more depressed. Then he goes off to war and I – honestly – didn’t find myself compelled to read it. It’s too… gritty. The ending was very unsatisfactory for an optimist such as I, who lives for happy endings. I feel as though it is almost split into two sections: pre-war (the one I enjoyed) and war (not so enjoyable). I would recommend this to someone who has always had quite a sheltered book taste, such as me, it’s always good to try something new, but also anyone else! By Lucy.

  16. I really enjoyed Private Peaceful. I think its a really interesting topic (soldiers being shot at the firing line for apparent cowardice), and its not often done before-it is a good change from the typical war stories. It was really nice to read (for the second time), and although it didn’t grab my attention straight away, it was a good read and I loved how Michael Morpurgo made me care about the characters! It also felt very realistic and (although a lot of people don’t agree) I liked all of the description, even though it was quite long.
    Overall, really worth the time to read!

  17. I enjoyed this more than any war book i have read so far because it starts off when the war has not affected them yet so you can start to feel for the characters before the war ruins everything and you don’t understand them as well.
    When the war does hit them, their brotherly bond will never break, even at the hardest of times.
    I really recommend this to anyone wanting to read moving books .
    By Amy.

  18. I loved reading this book and was very engaged in it. It tells a lovely story about Tommo and Charlie during their childhood in a small village and then how war separates them from their friends and mother.
    Its a great book with an exciting plot!

  19. I love Private Peaceful because it is very engaging and it is interesting. Micheal Morpurgo is a very good author who uses a lot of description and literary devices in his novels.

  20. I really enjoyed watching War Horse at the cinema so I’m looking forward to reading “Private Peaceful” – I’ve heard it’s a real tear-jerker.

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