Friend or Foe

Product Information

The boys encounter two German airmen hiding in the woods who are the only ones to have survived the crash. One of them saves one of the boys from drowning in the pond. The airmen both speak English and let the boys go, but ask them not to tell. The boys have a crisis of conscience as a result, but eventually decide to protect the Germans. When one of the airmen injures himself, he lets the boys 'capture' him, as he needs medical attention. The boys then become local heroes. The second German is later captured. The boys' foster family realise what happened. but are understanding of the situation. This is a really good book to use with KS2 for a WWII topic. You could also use this book in English as there are a number of dilemma scenarios in this book. My favourite and possibly the most important - where the boys have the dilemma of whether or not to help the German soldiers they found on the moor. Get the class to have a debate- either split the class in two and have each side debating their argument or give each child the chance to put their own opinion across. With this you could use A, B, C (agree, build or challenge), getting the children to challenge courteously (this could be your learning objective).

Friend or Foe by Michael Morpurgo | Goodreads

Friend or Foe is a gripping World War II story from War Horse author and former Children’s Laureate Michael Morpurgo.You might think that a novel of this sort might be boring, but Reid gives us a glimpse of domestic homelife that is sweet and sentimental — giving us something for the characters to work towards restoring, and something for the reader to pin his or her hopes on. You do want Junior and Hen to kiss and make up, you do want Junior to have a fun time in space, and even you do hope that Terrance, as creepy and calculating as he is, gets to complete his mission of transformation and reconciliation of the couple. That just makes the very ending of the book — not to carp, but its really endings plural — all the more mortifying.

Friend or Foe - Michael Morpurgo

Friend or Foe is a historical fiction novel about World War II, that grips the reader from the start. This book allows the reader to develop their knowledge and understanding of the second world war, through the description in the book.

David Wood, chair of Action for Children’s Arts, said Morpurgo is “one of our greatest storytellers”. Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical Moments Friend or Foe would be suitable for class based reading in year 4 and 5, and independent reading in year 6. The theme of the story offers the opportunity for cross-curricular work in history when studying WW2, especially evacuees. A trip to the War museum to look at the different planes in the story could be a great trip for Literacy and History. Friend or Foe may not be a Childs choice of book to read, however once reading the children will love it and be eager to read on. Many activities can be created such as: For more information about the work of Farms for City Children, please visit www.farmsforcitychildren.org Michael Morpurgo has thrilled and delighted huge numbers of young readers since becoming a children’s author in the early 1970s," Wood said. "Action for Children’s Arts is delighted to recognise Michael’s outstanding contribution by presenting him with the J M Barrie Award 2016. His work will undoubtedly, like Peter Pan, stand the test of time, making him a truly worthy recipient of this award."