Captain

Gr 6–9—Billy Bayliss should not be in Egypt in 1915, preparing to leave for Gallipoli. At 15, he lied his way into the British Army—he is scared, self-conscious, and alone. Captain, the 14-year-old son of a corporal, also should not be there, attached to the Provision Corps with his faithful donkey, Hey Ho. Because of their young age, the two form a tight friendship as they survive campaign after campaign in World War I. On the front lines, Billy sees the unimaginable horrors; Captain and Hey Ho sympathize, having seen their share of atrocities as survivors of an unnamed tragedy. Even as Billy grows familiar with war and distances himself from Captain, the boy and his donkey do not waver in their devotion. The physical demands of fighting in the parched Middle East take their toll on Billy's mind, and he makes a terrible mistake, sending him into a grief- and guilt-stricken tailspin. At the close of the war, Billy is alive but with a broken heart and fractured mind. Miraculously (and slightly unbelievably), the source of his grief and guilt resolves itself and Billy begins to heal. The tight, powerful writing is reminiscent of Michael Morpurgo's war novels—gritty but not gory. The story is Billy's, but Captain and Hey Ho are not just secondary characters; their unswerving loyalty is a driving factor behind Billy's thoughts, actions, and emotions. The donkey is representative of the thousands of unsung donkeys, mules, horses, and camels used during World War I.