The Prisoner: a tale of wartime refugees

Penny McKinley (author)

Greg Gormley (illus)

Franklin Watts, UK: 1998; 63pp

ISBN: 0749634553

Genre: historical fiction

Issues: cultural differences, war

This short novel about a child's gradual recognition of the human face of the Italian prisoners of war in Britain provides a very readable insight into modern history.

While playing war games with a friend, Bob encounters Mario, an Italian soldier who misses his family, his country and Italian food. Although his father is away fighting Bob begins to realise that if his dad was captured, he'd like to think of people being kind to him. Gradually Bob and his mother adopt Mario and through shared experiences, such as farming and cooking, learn that the face of the enemy is not so very different to their own.