Posted by Rebekah
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Horses, Keith Robertson
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Tim Cottrell enjoys riding his beautiful horse Whiskbroom cross-country, but he dreams of finding someone to ride with him. The feed man tells him about a supposed ghost horse and rider who have been sighted in the vicinity. But before Tim can try to track down the rider, his sister Leona introduces him to a girl named Kate, who loves horses, but says she won’t ride them. The two of them decide to start a riding stable and purchase a stubborn little donkey named Eloise. Once they discover how to keep Eloise from balking, they hire themselves out to give rides to children. During all this, Tim is still determined to catch the phantom rider. Then he discovers a beautiful Arabian mare named Gray Cloud. He’s sure that if Kate had a horse like that, she’d be willing to ride, so he attempts to buy the horse and discovers several secrets.
This is one of those books where the kids try to “gray over” things and rationalize their disobedience. I do appreciate the way the ghost horse and rider turn out. Eloise is rather cute, and Tim’s cross-country chasings of the phantom rider are fun. Any of you swash-buckling types who got your hopes up when I mentioned secrets, sit back in your chairs. They’re more ordinary and practical. For instance, why is Gray Cloud’s saddle dry when the caretaker claims he rides her daily? That sort of thing. That being said, it’s a fair book. I read it in one day.
Posted by Jordan
Categories: Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction, Older Readers, Review
Tags:Animals, Award Winner, Cats, Dogs, Dragons, Horses, Long Read, Robin McKinley
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Aerin is the king’s daughter, but the common people didn’t like her mother, so they don’t like her. Not only that, but Aerin’s Royal Gift hasn’t shown up, and all royal people have them. Therefore, she’s shunned by both the peasants and the royalty. Aerin drowns her sorrows in her father’s horse and ancient books. Dragons are a problem in Damar, and with nobody who wants to fight them, they’re getting worse. Then, Aerin discovers a recipe for an ointment that protects the wearer from fire — dragon fire. Armed with this information and some sword lessons, Aerin sets out to fight the dragons.
This is a rather interesting book. Let’s just say that I’ve given you enough to make you want to read it, but The Hero and the Crown goes on, even after you think it’s over. On the surface, this seems like a rather boring plot line, and I’ll admit that it dragged a bit in the beginning. There are also a few areas that are downright weird, and a few that are a little gory (though nothing like Stephen Lawhead’s books). However, that doesn’t stop The Hero and the Crown from being a highly entertaining story with an intricate plot that will keep you turning the pages.
Posted by Becca
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Dogs, Geese, Good Read Aloud, Horses, Jim Kjelgaard, Mules, Out of Print, Quick Read
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To start with, this book is made up of three unrelated short stories. The first, A Dog Remembers is about a large, friendly dog named Brad that comes to town one day with his master. The townspeople joke about Brad, saying that the dog is a lion. When Brad’s master is killed by another dog, Brad gets the blame. After all, he’s a big dog. Throughout the story, Brad tries to avoid the other dog and later on tries to find another master.
The second story is called The Black Horse. Jed Hale, lured by his employer’s reward of five hundred dollars, sets out to capture a wild black horse. This is no easy task. The horse is a said to be a killer and Jed has been crippled since childhood. Jed finally trails the horse to a ravine that is blocked on one side by an impassable swamp. The horse gets scared by a landslide and jumps into the swamp. Jed, not willing to leave the horse, must rescue it all by himself.
The last story The Lake and the Lonely Exiles is (surprise, surprise) about another dog. This dog lives on a farm and is quite happy. Then the farmer goes away on vacation, leaving the farm to a caretaker. The dog, who looks like a wolf, is blamed for killing sheep. Rather than kill the dog, the caretaker does what he thinks is the easy way out and dumps the dog on a lonely road. The dog ends up near a lake and adopts an injured goose as a companion.
I can’t decide which story I like the most. There are only two animal characters that have names. In the first story there’s Brad and in the third there is a mule named Adolph Hitler. I don’t believe that there is any bad language in any of these stories. This is a short book, but it is also very enjoyable.
Posted by Becca
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Good Read Aloud, Horses, The Black Stallion, Walter Farley
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Alec Ramsey is returning from a visit with his Uncle Ralph when his ship stops at an Arabian port and a giant black stallion is put on board. Alec makes friends with the horse, whom he names “The Black.” Later, The Black saves Alec’s life (rather unwittingly) by pulling him to an island. After quite a long time, Alec and The Black are rescued and make it back to Flushing, Alec’s home. Alec finds lodging for his stallion at a neighbor’s barn. Henry Dailey, the owner of the barn, sees The Black’s potential as a race horse. And so Alec and Henry try to find a way to get The Black onto a racetrack with two of the greatest racing stars at the time…
An interesting book. The ending is rather predictable, but is still enjoyable. I find that The Black Stallion is one of the better books in the The Black Stallion series. I especially enjoy Tony, the Italian huckster.
Posted by Ruth
Categories: Adventure, All Ages, Fiction, Mysteries, Review
Tags:Animals, Dogs, Horses, Jim Kjelgaard, Out of Print
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Trailing Trouble is “an adventure-mystery about a young game warden, his pinto pony, and Smoky, the dog with ‘a nose for trouble.'” Many people think it would be a good idea to make a National Park of the Gistache, but somebody obviously doesn’t share their sentiments. Bad things start to happen, and Tom Rainse thinks that this is more than the usual small band of poachers…
Well, I can’t say much more, because, after all, this is a mystery. I wouldn’t want to spoil anything, would I? Another fun Kjelgaard book, overall. The dialogue between Tom and his friend, Buck, is very comical at times. I am sorry to say, though, that Trailing Trouble ends just as abruptly as some of the other Kjelgaards. The climax occurs at the third paragraph from the end. But that’s okay. It still works.
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