Tail-End Charlie is a book about the author's fathers experiences as an airgunner in the RAF. That makes it sound dry, trust me it isn't. Mick Manning brings his father's daring exploits during bombing raids over Nazi positions in the Netherlands to life, but for me, it is the detail of the day to day wartime existence which is endlessly fascinating.
The illustrations are beautiful and detailed (reminding me of Raymond Briggs in style)and really add to the drama of the stories which are presented in a comic book/graphic novel way making them attractive and accessible to reluctant readers.
I bought a copy for my son for Christmas, this is a picture book perfectly suited to chapter book readers and think I will be ordering more for presents. As an added bonus Tail-End Charlie dovetails with the National Curriculum and Second World War studies.