Sparrow: The True Story of Joan of Arc

by Michael Morpurgo

Eloise has always loved Joan of Arc. Noble, honest and brave, she was everything Eloise wishes to be. And on a bright sunny day in Orleans, Eloise has a very special daydream…

A superb re-imagining of Joan of Arc by master storyteller and author of War Horse.

“There was only one creature on this earth who really knew Joan. He was a sparrow, just an ordinary sparrow…He was her best friend on this earth, maybe her only friend, too.”

A young girl faces an impossible task – to save her beloved France from tyrants. To free her country, Joan will lose everyone she has ever loved. But she listens to her heart and believes in her calling.

Through patience, perseverance and unbreakable spirit, Joan of Arc leads armies to victory and finds the strength to face the cruelest of destinies.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens, Fiction, France, Medieval, Young Adult, Religion

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Sir Michael Andrew Morpurgo, OBE, FRSL is the author of many books for children, five of which have been made into films. He also writes his own screenplays and libretti for opera. Born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, in 1943, he was evacuated to Cumberland during the last years of the Second World War, then returned to London, moving later to Essex. After a brief and unsuccessful spell in the army, he took up teaching and started to write. He left teaching after ten years in order to set up 'Farms for City Children' with his wife. They have three farms in Devon, Wales and Gloucestershire, open to inner city school children who come to stay and work with the animals. In 1999 this work was publicly recognised when he and his wife were invested a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to youth. In 2003, he was advanced to an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL) in 2004. He was knighted in the 2018 for his services to literature and charity. He is also a father and grandfather, so children have always played a large part in his life. Every year he and his family spend time in the Scilly Isles, the setting for three of his books.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Usually my kids and I enjoy Michael Morpurgo’s books. This one was a big miss for us though. I didn’t feel like there was enough historical background and facts in the story. It almost felt totally made up. I didn’t like how she kept talking about “her voices” either. It was weird.

[Grace Donnelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember liking the first part of the book, but was disappointed in the rest. I don't think Michael Morpurgo, no matter how great he is, is that great at conveying the mind of a teenage girl, let alone Joan. It didn't bring anything new to the table, I know it was based on fact, but it was so distant and broad. Wouldn't recommend it.

[Miles Franklin · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a Michael Morpurgo reader, I didn’t enjoy this novel and I didn’t finish it. Just couldn’t get into it like other titles.

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sparrow tells the story of Joan of Arc from the perspective of Belami, a sparrow that she befriends. While this was an interesting way to tell the story and a narrative device that Morpurgo is well known for, it did not seem very different from an omniscient narrator especially as the sparrow felt forgotten at times. The story was also a lot of telling rather than showing, which I was not a huge fan of as there were plenty of moments I would liked to have seen rather than be told about after they happened. The author's note states that historical sources were used for informing the narrative and even the dialogue, utilising words attributed to the real Joan of Arc as her speech in this, which made the narrative feel much more informed. But although Sparrow was about Joan, the story was framed around a modern narrative using Eloise's interest in the historical figure to begin and conclude the story. Having read Outlaw in which Morpurgo utilised a similar frame, I am not a fan of this way of storytelling and would have definitely preferred it to have just solely focused on the historical character and for the modern elements to have been removed altogether.

It seems to have been the intention of this book to attempt to humanise Joan beyond her saintly status and I think this worked to some degree, however she still felt somewhat distanced from the reader. But considering who she was, I think it would have been very difficult to avoid some sense of separation.

I quite enjoyed reading Sparrow, for the moments in which the book focused on Joan of Arc. However, I disliked the modern day framing of the narrative, as it did not really add anything to the story. Joan's life was itself so incredibly fascinating that the modern day elements felt unnecessary. Nevertheless, Sparrow was a good introduction to the life of Joan of Arc and it has certainly captured my interest in wanting to know more about the truly remarkable figure that she was.

Rating - 3/5
★★★

There is also a link to this review on my blog here!

[Isabella · Rating 2 out of 5]

I decided to read this book because Gina had been reading it and said it was good. Also because I have liked other books by Michael Morpurgo. This book fits into the category biography because it is the story of Joan of arcs life. My favourite quote from this book is 'I am not afraid... I was born to do this'. This is because it shows who she is as a person. I found this book very interesting and informative of French history. From this book I learnt about French history and Joan of arc's life because before reading this I did not know of her existence.

[Lara Vehar · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sparrow is a story about Joan of Arc but told from the perspective of her sparrow friend, Belami. It starts off with a completely different girl though. We meet a girl that is obsessed with Joan and knows everything there is to know about her. She moves to Orleans and wants to play Joan in the yearly festival where she leads the people through the streets. She writtes a great essay but isn't chosen because she wasn't born in this town and she just moved there.
She is really upset not to be chosen and goes to the river to be sad and alone instead of going to school - her parents are pretty fine with that and she gets the part anyways. Oh yeah she also suddenly hears a voice telling her the story of Joan but that is never mentioned again after that. The story is pretty simple - obviously since this is a children's book - but Joan sometimes acts much younger and so does the present protagonist - and Joan's biography is pretty much - she dressed as a boy, she fought and she was very, very, very religious - did you know that she was religious? She was religious- and that's all we learn about her pretty much. She was an interesting person and I want to read more about her but I really didn't care about this book. It was boring, the protagonists were unlikeable and I didn't really care for the ending.

[Angela Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rember when I was a kid I was in my usual spot the library when I saw this book I picked it up and I fell in love I would read it over and over again.
Ofc as every kid does they forget the small things after time
I grew older and I still loved the story of Joan of arc buying books about her to read trying to find this one in particular but couldn't rember the name of it for the life of me and then the other day as I was scrolling through book of her I found it

I have just finished it and I still can say the little girl who read this back then is now an adult and loves it now
It's a good way to tell her stroy through the eyes of a sparrow and through the eyes and heart of a child looking up to her

This book was a good break from the others and a good step into the past quite literally I

I hope for others to enjoy this book as much as I did. Even after years of since I last read this it's still a good book

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This was an interesting retelling of Joan of Arc and the importance a little white sparrow, Balami, played in her life. While Sparrow wasn't my favourite Michael Morpurgo novel, it was still a very well-researched story about a fascinating young woman. Readers will come to know Joan, not as a saint but as a young peasant girl who had fears, joys and hopes like every other teenage girl since the beginning of time. Giving her a little bird as her constant companion, right up to the moment of her death, gave Joan a vulnerability most books about her lack. A great read.

[Gracethereader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was like I was in a history lesson reading through this.
I had always been interested in Joan of Arc. I even had to do a history project and I chosen to study her. It was fascinating reading this. I liked Joan's character and I felt relatable to her. It was sad though to hear about her death because it is based on true events during the Hundred Years War in France and England.
I would recommend this to anyone. It is good and anyone will like it.😀

[Catholic Mom and Daughter · Rating 2 out of 5]

On page 99 of this book, the author states that the Bishop "did not allow Joan to say mass". What?!
Only a Catholic priest, who is always a man, is allowed to say mass. It's possible that this is a typo and that the author meant to say that Joan was not allowed to hear mass, but still that is a pretty major error and should have been caught. It has given me serious pause about this book…. I think there are better choices out there.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a history teacher, I am always on the look out for high quality young adult historical fiction. Sparrow is certainly well-written and compelling, as it shares the story of Joan of Arc, but I found it would only appeal to a narrow range of students. I enjoyed the book, but I think today's students would find the first half of the book rather slow moving.

[Lars Øen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skrevet på samme måte som flere av de andre bøkene hans, f. Eks. Outlaw/ Robin hood. Denne boken har derimot mer rot i "sannheten". Spennende bok for både gutter og jenter, da man kan selge inn både krig og en sterk kvinnelig karakter. Samtidig får man utforsket å se saker fra flere sider, samt lære om historie og religion.
God bok for 7ende trinn. Hilsen engelsklærer på barneskolen.

[Natasha Y · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read all these when I was quite young and fell in love with the author for sure! Loved all the animals and the harder topics as I thought everything was too happy when I was young! Don’t know how amazing they are now but when I was 9 I adored them so I’m keeping that memory. Also felt very empowering for a younger me.

[Ruby Hoare · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book felt like a fever dream; diary of a teenage girl (probably with some form of personality disorder) travelling through a war torn country.

Spoilers:
I think she dyed like 2/3 way through the book, then it continues as her ghost talking to someone!? It disturbed me as a child.

Then popular culture presented her to me with a yay! go girlie! attitude.

[Amy Dowie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read based on the life of Joan of Arc. Gave enough of a historical feel mixed with fiction to have a nice balance. I was a little disappointed with it compared to other murpurgo books I have read as I didn't feel that there was a strong attachment created between the reader and Joan.

[Michal Paszkiewicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very moving book for children, but not too simple or uninteresting for adults. I have always liked Morpurgo's style, but the use of the Sparrow in this book seemed slightly pointless and more of a symbol of the author's artistic flair then a literary benefit.

[Stella Redburn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and learnt quite a lot about Joan of Arc. The parallel story of the two girls was a bit artificial and unnecessary but I understand that it made the original story more accessible.

[Isabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great account of Joan of Arc's life. I like Michael Morpurgo's style and I like that there is always hope in his books.

[Electro Space Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a girl called Eloise who looks up to Joan of Arc and it tells the story of Joan of Arc.

[Kate Keys · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. i confess it filled a lot of hours and was full of war and of course Joan herself.

[Briana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Remember reading this as a kid should re read it

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! Couldn't stop reading, really want to knos more about Joan of Arc now. Love the detail of the story and the excitement it gives you.

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 3 out of 5]

579 - 2019

[Lizzy w · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique and addictive! Loved this book and the story behind it , very entertaining and reminds me a lot of the film the messenger starring milla jovovitch!

[Kylee Hancock]

It's was not my favourite book but it was all right. In parts it was boring though.

[Stella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was incredible. You learn about Joan Of Arc in a brand new way. Mostly told in Joans words.

[Sammie Barker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice, easy to read, warm insight into the story of Joan of Arc.

[Michael Taliotis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice book,didn't fall in love with the main character as much as "Outlaw",where his humanity was emphasized more.

[Esther · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting and engaging storyline, with different layers of style. Although some parts were a little too informative it was a very good read.