When a tiny orphaned bear cub is adopted by Polish soldiers during World War II, little does anyone know that little Wojtek will become one of the bravest fighters of them all. As the soldiers train to take part in some of the fiercest fighting of the war, Wojtek grows up, providing headaches and laughter in equal measure as he learns to drink beer, chase horses and wrestle with his human friends. But at Monte Cassino, as the Allies try and dislodge German troops from their mountain-top eyrie, Wojtek, now a fully signed-up solider with his own rank and number, comes into his own, dodging the bullets to carry ammunition to his comrades as they inch their way to victory. After the war, the Polish solders move to Scotland. Wojtek comes too and soon becomes the centre of attention in a new country. But with hostilities ended, how long can he keep his freedom? Best-selling children's author Jenny Robertson explores the themes of friendship and trust in this moving and inspirational story.

 

 

This book has been graded for interest at 8-12 years.

There are 128 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2014 by Birlinn General .

Jenny Robertson has written numerous books for children and adults - fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Her children's novels and Bible stories have been widely translated and also read on Yorkshire Television and STV. Tim Archbold wrote and illustrated his first children's book. In 1988 and since then has worked on books for a huge number of publishers, including Bloomsbury, HarperCollins, Macmillan and OUP. His illustrations have also featured in magazines such as Radio Times, Good Housekeeping, BBC Gardener's World, Good Food and Country Living. Tim Archbold was born in Northumberland and lives in the Scottish Borders. He has written and illustrated over 100 books for children, including Bagpipes, Beasties and Bogles (2012).