While the Storm Rages

Phil Earle's While the Storm Rages is a wartime story for 11 year olds about a boy who has promised his dad he'll keep the family dog safe, just as the whole country is told to give their pets up.

What happens

Every morning Noah and his dad walk Winn along the canal. She's a shaggy mongrel with a greyhound's legs and a terrier's tangle of hair, and she belly-flops into the water after her ball every single time.

But this is the last walk for a while. Dad is off to train as a soldier, because he's sure war is coming. Before he goes he makes Noah a deal. Look after Mum and Winn, and Dad will stay safe too.

Noah takes that promise very seriously. So when Mum tells him the children are being evacuated to the countryside, and dogs can't come, his world starts to fall apart. Then a booklet arrives from the government about what to do with your pets.

Noah has to decide how far he'll go to keep his word. He isn't short of plans (he's the kind of boy who always has a money-making scheme on the go). And his best friend Clem, who knows everything about everything, is right beside him.

It's a real page-turner with lots of heart. The talk is full of London cheek. Noah salutes Clem's ancient sausage dog to prove to the local bully that the dog isn't a Nazi, and then runs for it. His mum threatens to take up taxidermy. You'll laugh, and then something will catch in your throat a page later.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

This is a story about pets being put down. Families queue outside the vet's with their cats, dogs and rabbits, and Clem's elderly dog Frank is one of them. Noah is desperate not to let Winn go the same way. It's handled with care, but a child who has lost a pet recently may find it very hard going.

For a reader who's ready for it, it's a moving story about loyalty and standing up for what you love.

What to read next

If it grips them, Phil Earle's When the Sky Falls is another good choice. It's about an angry boy whose dad has marched off to war, sent to live with a stranger who doesn't want him any more than he wants her.