Shadow

Michael Morpurgo's Shadow is a moving story for 11 year olds about a boy locked up in a detention centre, and the spaniel who once found him in a cave in Afghanistan.

What happens

Matt and Aman are best friends in Manchester. They're both fourteen and were even born on the same day. But Aman and his mum came to England as asylum seekers, and now they're locked up in a place called Yarl's Wood, waiting to be sent back.

Children aren't allowed to visit. So Matt talks his grandpa into going instead, with a Monopoly board under his arm.

The visit is so awkward at first. There are locked doors, guards everywhere and the sound of children crying. Then Aman lands on "Go to jail" and can't stop laughing (in a jail!). It's a lovely moment, until a guard tells them to keep it down.

Then Grandpa shows Aman a family photo with his old spaniel in it. Aman's eyes fill with tears, and he whispers a name. Shadow.

So Aman tells Grandpa everything, from the beginning. How he was born and grew up in a cave in Bamiyan. How a thin, starving dog covered in sores turned up at the cave one night. And how she stayed.

The story is told in turns by Matt, Grandpa and Aman, and each voice feels very real. Aman's is plain and honest, and sometimes quietly funny. He points out that in England some people like dogs better than they like children.

Grandpa is one of the best bits. He gets SO cross with the guards, and then cross with himself for keeping quiet. You'll probably feel exactly the same.

This is a hard read in places, and it's worth knowing that before you hand it over. Aman's father is taken away by the Taliban and killed. His mother is beaten in prison. Police come to the cave and beat Aman, and his grandmother is pushed over and dies. None of it is dwelt on, but it's all there on the page.

For a sensitive reader, or one who's lived through something similar, it could be very upsetting. For a reader who's ready for real-world stories, it's honest and hopeful. It's about friendship and loyalty, and a dog who keeps turning up when she's needed most.

What to read next

If they'd like another Morpurgo about a boy, his dog and a very long way from home, Kensuke's Kingdom begins with Michael and his sheepdog, Stella Artois.