“Bring me home my beating wings.
Bring me home my beating heart.”
Today Esther, William and I finished reading Private Peaceful
This is a book that I loved teaching to my Y5/6 classes
It is an incredibly moving story
Of two brothers
Who head off to fight together
In the First World War
It is powerful and poignant
And William and I sobbed
Uncontrollably
Through the last three chapters
I am not sure how I ever read this
Out loud to a class
But I did
Esther and William have produced
Some wonderful writing linked to this story
They have worked so hard
And loved connecting with the characters
In the book
We are ready now to move on from our
Remembrance Reads
And to begin
Christmas School with Chatty Zebra
To join together Private Peaceful
And our Seasons Readings
I have another favourite
Michael Morpurgo story
The incredible story
Of robin migration
Illustrated by Kerry Hyndman
Readers follow the journey
Of one courageous robin
Making an epic journey as he
Heads home to his true love
For Christmas
The journey is long and hard
He flies through dark forests
Driving rain
Clapping thunder and
Flashing lightning
The little robin follows the river
Dreaming of home
Thinking of his love
In his darkest moments
With weary wings
And a heavy heart
The plucky robin wonders
If he will ever see home again
In a moment of calm
The robin rests
Only to be attacked by a hawk
He escapes the claws
Only to fly into a blizzard
A flock of fieldfares
Help the brave robin
Until he falls
From a stormy sky
Into a raging sea
The robin is rescued
Nursed back to health
By a kindly fisherman
Before starting out again
On his quest to find home
Will his love be there?
Will she be waiting?
Of course she is
Waiting for her true love
Waiting for his homecoming
He’s home!
The robin.
They are together again.
Now we can all have a
Happy Christmas
At the end of Private Peaceful
The one brother still alive
Is marching back to the trenches
To the Somme
He knows that what awaits him
Will not be good
But he is determined to survive
Determined to go home
To his family
For his brother
“All I know is that I must survive.
I have promises to keep.”
These two books
Go together so beautifully
Coming Home is an
Emotive festive read
For anyone who is waiting
Or has ever waited
For a loved one