Customer Reviews

The Amazing Story Of Adolphus Tips

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The heart of this novel is a sweet story of World War II set in the Devon community of Slapton Sands. It's told from a refreshing, unique perspective of a child on the British home front; this setting is particularly interesting, since it gives a glimpse into the Allies' preparations for D-Day.

Lily, the main character, misses her father, who has gone off to fight. She's also worried about her cat, Tips, who can't be found in time to take her along when the family is evacuated from their home in order to allow for military exercises, as Allied forces prepare for the D-Day landing.

Storylines involving Lily's family taking in a displaced boy from London and befriending two African-American soldiers are handled with subtlety and grace.

Unfortunately, the novel is framed by a modern-day narrative involving Lily's grandson, Michael. The framing piece is clumsy and unnecessary, and seems as though it was added in order to allow the author to tie up some loose ends without significantly lengthening the story. Sadly, it doesn't really work. I'd have much preferred to read more about Lily in the 1940s and less about her in the present.

Try a different Lily, in _Lily's Crossing_, by Patricia Reilly Giff, for a much more sophisticated World War II story of a young girl on the home front who makes an unexpected friendship.

Michael had been close to his grandmother all of his life. So when she promises to write him a letter while on her mysterious trip, he believes her. Yet when the letter arrives, even Michael finds surprise at her incredible news. To help explain her shocking announcement, Michael's grandmother, Lily, also includes pages from her girlhood journal.

The journal begins on September 10, 1943 when Lily is 12 years old. She lives on a farm in England with her mother, father, grandfather and beloved cat, Tips. The war is tearing the world apart, yet it hasn't affected Lily personally until her father joins the British Military and ships off to who knows where. Then Lily's lack of involvement quickly changes.

A temporary refugee in her school comes to live on the farm with Lily, and she finds that she kind of likes having a little brother. And then Lily meets some soldiers from America and becomes friends with a fellow named Adie. But all too soon the tragedies of war become clear when her teacher's husband is killed in action. And then the war really hits home when Lily's town is forced to evacuate so that the soldiers can practice sea-side landings on the beach. When the day arrives for Lily's family to move down the road to her uncle's farm, Tips disappears!

Lily is devastated. She can't leave behind her best friend, but she must. She swears though that nothing will stop her from looking for her cat --- not even the danger signs, the barbed wire fencing, the soldiers' dogs, or the exploding bombs. She will find Tips no matter what.

THE AMAZING STORY OF ADOLPHUS TIPS is indeed amazing. Mostly written in journal formation, readers get a firsthand and very personal look at World War II from a 12-year-old's point of view. Lily's tears and fears and joys are expertly deployed by the author, Michael Morpurgo. He also adds a bit of humor and adventure, making this story a joy to both genders and any age group.

--- Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman, author of FINDING MY LIGHT and THE BLACK POND.

This is a wonderful book. I would recommend to adults as well as children. It puts a very human face on D-Day.

A young girl and her family must leave their home in order that the allied forces can use their village as a training area for the D-Day landings. The village is evacuated and surrounded by barbed wire but Mr Tips , the beloved cat, can not be found, will lily try to sneak back in under the wire, what dangers will she and her friends face during this period of time?. Will they ever get to return to their home? This slice of WWII is told through the diary entries of Lily, so works very well as an audio book. It is an interesting, gripping, funny, poignant, and compelling book that adults will enjoy as much as children.

While there is a huge number of books written about World War II, the vast majority of them focus (perhaps understandably) on the soldiers and their stuggles on the battlefields around the world. This book provides a completely unique perspective on the war. Told through the diary entries of a twelve-year-old girl in Devon, we get a glimpse of what wartime England was like. We learn about fathers gone off to fight the war, about rationing and the evacuation of children from London to the countryside. We also learn about the relationships that formed between American soldiers that came to England in preparation for the invasion of Europe and the people who lived in the towns where they lived and worked. It was a world in turmoil, even for people far from the actual fighting.

The focus of this story never strays from the child's point of view and reflects the concerns of a young person who is just awakening to the wide scope of the world around her. As such, this is a story of relationships and avoids most of the larger issues that surrounded the war and its aftermath. The issues that is does raise, including racism, are addressed entirely within the scope of the narrators emerging worldview, and provide a refreshing glimpse into the possibilities for the future.

This book was an excellent choice of book to read.It has a great storyline and makes you want to read on and find out more! It has many characters in it including :A stubborn Granddad who does many strange things!,A cute cat,American soldiers and many more interesting characters.This book is quite sad but once you get to the end of the book it changes !If you are a cat lover especially this will be a great read for you!

this book is set in WWII and is about a young girl who lost her cat. An amazing story of courage amd persistance, this book is a great read and worth the price.

Brilliant,funny and sad.
This story is told through the eyes of a young girl living in WWII,and as a young girl myself I found this book really interesting and funny.I really liked the way the story was told through the diary entries of Lily.
I would recommend this book to children of any age.

When twelve-year old Lily Tregenza's oft pregnant, well-loved cat goes missing, somewhere near an area of Slapton Sands cordoned off for the use of soldiers to practice beach landings during WWII, the girl is heartbroken. And in spite of being warned numerous times to stay away from the danger zone, she returns repeatedly to search for the feline. Finally, after US Forces find, pick up, scold and return Lily to her family's temporary home (at a maternal uncle's, where they are relocated during the military's takeover of the beach), a newfound friend, "Adolphus T. Madison Private First Class US Army," vows to "find [Tips], one way or the other." As the girl awaits the cat's fate, she experiences a series of memorable events: a visit, an accident, a death, and a crush.

Former Children's Laureate of Britain author Michael Morpurgo based this action-packed 140 page book for 9 to 12 year olds on an actual event: the 1943 evacuation of about 3,000 persons near Slapton Sands in Devon for troops to practice for the landing at Normandy. In The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, the story is shared by the now elderly grandmother with her twelve-year-old grandson, of whom she is most fond, by way of a manuscript she compiles from her September 1943 to October 1944 journal entries. Also good: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl, and Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel.

Michael Morpurgo has written yet another brilliant story with 'The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips'.

It's the story of Lily Tregenza who, in 1943, lives on the family farm on the coast of Devon with her mum and grandfather. Her dad's away in the army. Lily has a cat called Tips, and when the family are forced to move from their home for several months while the army take over the area as a training ground Lily's beloved Tips runs away and gets left behind. Lily is heartbroken but will not give up her search for Tips and she enters the cordoned-off Danger Zone to look for Tips herself - a very dangerous place to be...

It's a lovely story. Written in a simple, easy-to-read style, yet granting the reader a true insight into the Second World War from a child's perspective in the countryside. We also learn at the outset of the story that there's going to be a twist to Lily's tale right at the end, so as long as you don't cheat and peek at the end, it makes for a really compulsive read.

Michael Morpurgo reminds us that 3000 people really were evacuated from their homes around Slapton Sands in Devon, so that the troops could practice landing exercises along the beaches. The beaches there were similar there to the landing beaches in Normandy, used for the D-Day landings of June 1944.

I can highly recommend the story of Adolphus Tips for all ages from 8+.