Little Manfred is a pint-sized wooden dog with red wheels that Alex and Charley's mother loves more than they have ever loved a toy. Alex and Charley are walking down the beach in the summer of 1966 when they begin to find out why. As they get to know Marty and Walter - two men they meet on the beach - they find out more about their mother's past, World War ll and the real Manfred than they could ever dream of.

I love this book because it has an interesting yet slightly informal storyline and tells the story of what it was really like in WW2. It is by a well-known author whose books I am sure lots of people have enjoyed and I recommend this book for people age 9+.

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• This article was amended on 22 February 2013. The original referred to Little Manfred as a wooden horse, rather than a dog. This has been corrected.