This story takes place over a relatively short amount of time and yet spans three generations. Michael Morpurgo gives us two contrasting first person narratives that illustrate the relationship between a grandson and his grandfather. The main narrative is that of the grandson, which is very much based in reality. On the other hand grandpa's story is what I would call a tale because it concentrates on incident rather than character and is closer to the oral tradition in terms of the use of dialect. This narrative is woven into the other. The distance between the two narratives is through time; however, they are very close due to the setting. Morpurgo uses several motifs such as the ideals of now and then and lost tradition. The lead motifs are an old Fordson Tractor and a horse called Joey.
Joey has his own story which takes part in World War I, however in this story it is Grandpa who is central. The opening of the book introduces us to the grandson and the old green Fordson tractor which form part of his daydreams. Although there is no apparent link at first, the tractor is also an integral part of the story; a story that unfolds when the old man takes his grandson into his confidence and discloses his secret (he can not read). After being taught to read by his grandson, Grandpa writes him a story about how the tractor was won in a ploughing race between it and his fathers horses (Joey and Zoey).
Michael Foreman brings the settings alive with his detailed water colour illustrations which are printed in black and white (In my edition). The primary setting for the book is the family farm in rural Devon. However, through Grandpa's reminiscing we also see a glimpse of World War I. The farm represents the families history and is the element of the story that gives you the atmosphere of tradition and change. In the present day setting it appears that the farming tradition is going to be lost and this is also the case in the setting of grandpa's tale. Here I think Morpurgo is trying to paint an optimistic outlook for the lifestyles of the past by illustrating that change is not always bad. In the present the farm's future lays with the grandson because his father chose a different career. In grandpa's story it was technology that apparently threatened their way of life.
At the centre of this book is the relationship between the two main characters. Morpurgo illustrates this well through a balance of power; grandpa obviously has a lot of experience but it is his grandson that gives him the opportunity to write it down. In essence he learns how to occupy his mind for when he retires and in this respect it is a substantial gift. The story concludes with the grandson telling the reader that he as decided to become a farmer having studied engineering. He fixes the tractor to bring us full circle with a daydream becoming reality.
This book is like a bowl of hot chicken soup on a cold winter's day. You can almost hear the voice of your own granddad as your reading. When I had finished the book I could not help thinking that I do not talked to my granddad as often as I would like. It also tells us a lot about a lost oral tradition because it lends itself to being read aloud. After reading this book I went out and bought War Horse (Joey's story).
