Posted by Becca
Categories: All Ages, Historical Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Award Winner, Meindert DeJong, Pigs
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Tien Pao and his family have left their old village in China because of the invading Japanese. They come to the town of Hengyang and there Tien Pao’s mother and father work all day at an airfield, leaving Tien Pao alone in the sampan. On only the second day at Hengyang, the stake securing the sampan to the shore comes loose because of a small herd of water buffaloes and Tien Pao is swept down the river, back to the Japanese-held territory.
This is another great book by DeJong. DeJong describes everything from Tien Pao’s viewpoint. English, for example, is described as the “Strange language of the Americans.” One note, because this book is set during WWII, there are some rather scary parts, so keep that in mind if you are considering reading this.
Posted by Ruth
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Review, Science Fiction
Tags:Animals, Horses, The Island Stallion, Walter Farley
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Okay….This book took me completely by surprise. When I picked it up, I was expecting a standard Walter Farley. The description on the back even pointed to it, by saying that Steve gets a chance to race Flame, but has trouble at the races with Flame attacking the other horses. That’s all true, however, it failed to mention that his opportunity is derived from two aliens/men from another planet. Yes, you read that right. Walter Farley goes science fiction. That sort of weirded me out. Actually, most of the story is based around the men from another planet, and the race is only in the last few chapters. I only rated it one star, but if you like sci-fi stuff, (and expect it coming!) it might be worth two stars.
Posted by Rebekah
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Dogs, Jim Kjelgaard
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Sean, one of Big Red’s sons, is a perfect show dog, but everything in him yearns to be free and wild. An accident frees him and throws him (literally) into a northern wilderness. Forced to fend for himself, Sean relies on his instincts and wits in everything, from finding food, to avoiding the half-coyote-half-dog, Slasher.
Definitely a dog story. Complete with wanting an owner to love and be loved by. I wasn’t very thrilled, but I did read it in snatches throughout the day. Each person likes a different type of book. It does have kind of an abrupt ending. Rather disappointing since Sean gets shot. . . just kidding! Well, he does get shot at one point in the book, but (like Lassie!), it’s not much of a problem.
Posted by Ruth
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Horses, The Island Stallion, Walter Farley
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Steve Duncan and his good friend Pitch have returned to their secret hideout on the uninhabited island of Azul. Pitch hopes to continue exploring and documenting the many tunnels of the island, while Steve can’t wait to be reunited with Flame, a wild stallion he befriended, who is the leader of a beautiful band of wild horses. But the trouble begins when Pitch’s step-brother, Tom, discovers their island paradise. Holding them as prisoners, Tom determines to tame Steve’s beloved horse, Flame, by force alone.
I didn’t like this one as much as some of Walter Farley’s other books, and it might not be entirely suitable for younger readers. I found the part where Tom is beating Flame with a whip over, and over, and over to be a bit sickening. However, the rest of it is pretty good.
Posted by Rebekah
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Horses, The Black Stallion, The Island Stallion, Walter Farley
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On their way back from Europe, Alec and Henry’s plane goes down. Using a life raft, Henry, Alec and the crew make it out safely. The only problem? The Black and several other horses were on the plane with them. As Alec drifts about in the raft, his only comfort is that Henry saw the horses leaving the plane before it went down. Once the life boat reaches the island of Antago in the West Indies, Alec and Henry devote their time to finding the Black, before it could be too late.
This is a fun book. The only problem is the vampire bat. (Excuse me a moment while I go shiver.) The bat is infected with rabies, and plays a large part in the story line. As a heads-up, there are a few evolutionary statements about the bat. If you ever feel queasy about the bat, whatever you do, just keep breathing, it turns out okay in the end. I find it interesting how Walter Farley brought together his two most famous horses and manages to never say which horse is better. There are some tense moments, and, on the whole, this book is fun.
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