| Children's column: Foreman's unmissable exhibition |
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| Children's |
| Written by Nicolette Jones |
| Tuesday, 10 November 2009 10:09 |
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At least four national newspapers turned down a feature on Michael Foreman’s War Boy exhibition when it opened for last half term at the National Army Museum in Chelsea. And yet it is one of the most stimulating and best-thought-out exhibitions for youngsters I have seen in a long time, and it runs until at least next April. The walls are covered with life-size blow-ups of his illustrations for the book, beginning with the incendiary bomb that came through his bedroom ceiling when he was three years old and missed his bed by inches. There is a reconstruction of Foreman’s mother’s village shop near Lowestoft, and of an outside loo, with a door that opens to reveal a life-size drawing of a surprised young Michael. There is a communal Anderson shelter big enough to accommodate a class, and with wartime activities from the Shelter Fun Book (such as things to do with matches). Inside, you can listen to the text of both War Boy and Foreman’s War Game, superbly narrated by Robert Hardy (but why not yet available as an audio book?). There is a Morrison Shelter reconstructed from Foreman’s drawings, on the top of which you can play table tennis (as Michael and his brother did). It is, Foreman admits, strange to have all this from his own history come to life again. The exhibits combine Foreman’s drawings with contemporary memorabilia, and a small screen replays brief wartime public service films. It is absolutely the perfect place for any grandparent who remembers the war to take their grandchildren – or indeed any relation who remembers family stories of wartime – and will certainly trigger their own reminiscences. The show is not only about the Second World War, but makes good use of Foreman’s War Game – about the famous Christmas football match in the trenches – also to trace the history of the First World War. It uses information about Foreman’s uncles, on whose stories the book was based, and Foreman’s drawings of the trenches, life-size, meld into photographs of the same, so you can effectively stand inside a trench. Foreman’s drawings are also juxtaposed with photographs - as, for instance, of the men at the recruiting office. The show reveals not only the historical accuracy but also the exceptional draughtsmanship and colour of Foreman’s illustration, in the year in which his name has been submitted by IBBY for international recognition. Youngsters are encouraged to draw their own experiences, not least because they can post their own work on a wall full of reproductions of pages from Foreman’s sketchbooks. A room of original illustrations, hung low for children, draws not only from War Game and War Boy, but from other works of Foreman’s concerned with war and peace – or War and Peas, to use the title of one early work inspired by a visit to the Himalayan kingdom of Sikkim. These include Billy the Kid, with Michael Morpurgo’s text, which tells a life story that includes the liberation of the concentration camps; The General, Foreman’s first published book, now reprinting; and his recent A Child’s Garden: A Story of Hope. The exceptional quality of this work, and the peripatetic life story they reveal, make me think there is another missed opportunity here: surely it is time for a retrospective volume of Foreman’s life and work. Photo: Foreman minds the shop
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