Tales On Moon Lane

10.05am	Starting School Death of Father
10.40am	Big Joe The arrival of Grandmawolf
11.15am	Mother returns Molly's illness
11.50am	Found poaching Molly recovers Lost plane Charlie starts work Bertha stolen
12.24pm	Charlie is sacked Farm job begins War starts Secret mgs discovered Thomas starts work Bertha is shot
12.55pm	Big Joe disappears – and is found
1.28pm	Molly is pregnant Marriage War march Colonel's bribe Thomas's decision Boys depart
2.14pm	Training camp Bullying – "horrible hanley"
3.01pm	At the front Over the top
3.25pm	Over the top Charlie is injured and sent home
4.00pm	The Gas attack Letters from home Charlie returns The bombardment Thomas is injured
4.55pm	Charlie disobeys Hanley Charlie is court martialled The brothers say goodbye
5.59pm	Charlie's death

Themes

Love, loss, loyalty, power, sacrifice, bravery/cowardice.

Issues

War, justice, disability, religion (p.47 & 143), p.172 disobeys the order.

Structure

Told through the eyes of Thomas Peaceful during World War 1.
The young soldier looks back over his childhood but all the time the clock is ticking. The narrative shifts between past and present, as the final eight hours tick away.
Clues to Thomas's predicament: wants time to go on forever, pl05 time ‘sliced' away; 105 Got Charlie's watch – 134 charlie promises watch to Thomas at his death – is he dead? 168 find out why and how he will die – when the memories reach the present.

Characters

Very well drawn, through action, description and dialogue.
Tommo: continually knocked but remains positive.
Charlie: older brother, brave.
Big Joe: oldest brother, learning disabilities.
Molly: loved by Tommo but in love with Charlie.
Mother: strong, feisty.
Figures of authority: Horrible Hanley, Grandma Wolf, the Colonel, Mr.Munnings - all evil. (link to Morpurgo's experience of authority in his bibliography).

Style

Variety of sentence types and sentence starters.
Repetition for emphasis:
p.70 I liked that. I liked that a lot.
p.84 When I touched his hand he did not wake. When I shook him gently by the shoulder he did not move.
Use of the senses for description.
Precise, descriptive language.
Battle scenes written in present tense – tense and immediate p121.
Prepares reader for ‘big events' e.g. p.71 ..then what followed broke my heart, broke all our hearts.

Application

Openings: what do you know/want to know?
Example of structure: story/stories within a story. Time slips. Story map/diagram to illustrate.
Authorial technique: building setting through description, building suspense e.g. p.71.
p102/103: Thomas's reasons for going to war. Stimulus for class debate, leading to discursive writing or Tommo's diary entry as he is deciding whether to go to war.
p.177 “You'll tell them how it really was, won't you, Tommo?…” Write the letter from Tommo to his family telling them the truth about Charlie's death. (Could use letters on p.157-160 as immersion).
Charlie's court martial – debate (p.177-179).

Links - World War 2

"Goodnight Mr Tom" by Michelle Macorian
"Rose Blanche" by Ian McEwan
"The Lion and the Unicorn" by Shirley Hughes
"Hiroshima" by Junko Morimoto