Author: Marguerite Henry
Publication date: 1947
Synopsis: An endearing and contagiously innocent story, this Newberry Award winning classic introduces us to the horse-loving children, Paul and Maureen Beebe, and their grandparents who live on a quaint farm on Chincoteague Island. The legendary Pony Penning Day has finally come and at long last Paul Beebe is old enough to accompany the adult men onto Assateague Island to round up the wild ponies who live there. He and sister Maureen have been working desperately to scrape together enough money to buy their own Chincoteague Pony; however, the particular horse that they desire is not just another one of the darling faces rounded up each year: she is the Phantom, the renowned mare who has cagily evaded capture year after year. Paul is convinced that he can nab the Phantom... and he does! But along with the Phantom comes her tiny filly foal. It takes only one look for the Beebe children to fall entirely in love with Misty, as they call the foal. They soon realize, though, that they only have the funds to purchase the Phantom; unless they can somehow scrounge up several more dollars within a matter of hours, Misty will not be theirs.
My Friend Flicka
Author: Mary O'Hara
Publication date: 1941
Synopsis: This book is the first in this timeless trilogy, beautifully written and completely gripping. It is the touching story of a ten-year-old boy named Ken who lives on an isolate Wyoming horse farm with his older brother, mother and father. All Ken wants is a horse of his own, but his father will not give him one because Ken is a 'dreamer' and valuable horses cannot be wasted on someone like Ken. Eventually, Ken's mother persuades his father to give Ken a horse of his own. McLaughlin has great plans for Ken's young horse, but Ken falls in love with an elusive sorrel filly, the daughter of an untameable mare called Rocket. Despite the fact that the filly comes from a line of wild, mean-spirited horses, McLaughlin agrees to give her to Ken. Rocket is killed in a freak accident and Flicka, the filly, is injured when her owner's attempt to catch her. Everyone believes that Flicka will die... except for Ken.
The Black Stallion
Author: Walter Farley
Publication date 1941
Synopsis: The Black (or Shetan), the savagely striking stallion starring in this series, was described by the New York Times as "the most famous fictional horse of the century". Although each and every book in this illustrious, masterful series is well worth reading, it is the first one that has enjoyed the place on the pedestal as one of the most treasured horse books of all history. Whilst returning to the United States of America via ship after visiting his uncle in Arabia, redheaded teenager Alec Ramsey and a viciously wild stallion nearly drown in the dramatic and terrifying sinking of their ship. Stranded on an in hospitable desert island, the pair form an unbreakable, inexplicable bond so intimate that not even Alec can understand it. Upon their rescue and return to the USA, Alec befriends a crusty retired racehorse trainer, Henry Dailey, who instantly identifies the Black's unmatched pedigree. Together, he and Alec clandestinely start to train the Black to race; as Henry first thought, the Black is wickedly fast, but he lacks the documents that would certify him as a horse that is able to race, and it appears as if Alec's dreams for the Black will all come to nothing.
Black Beauty
Author: Anna Sewall
Publication date: 1877
Synopsis: Composed in the final years of her life, this unmatched novel has become one of the most treasured books by old and young alike; it was also the first story to be classified in the now highly popular pony genre of literature. Told in the first-person from the point of the aging, retired horse, Black Beauty, we get a unique and stirring look into the world of an 1800s horse, right from his birth in the peaceful English countryside, to his days as the riding horse of various rich owners, to the harsh, exhausting existence of a cab horse in the bustling city of London. Beauty will have many owners, some kind and some cruel; he will meet many other horses too, some whose stories end contentedly and others whose conclusion is tragic. If you claim to be horse-crazy, this book is a must-read.
Phantom Stallion
Author: Terri Farley
Publication date: 2002-2010
Synopsis: Set in the dusty, inspiring landscape of the Nevada desert, the twenty-four books of this series captured the hearts and imaginations of all my horse-crazy friends and I during our early teenaged years. Plucky and realistic, they describe the homecoming and life thereafter of thirteen-year-old Samantha Forster, a motherless girl who was sent to live in San Francisco with her aunt after a horrific horse riding accident nearly resulted in her premature death. Upon her return to River Bend Ranch, her beloved colt, Blackie, has still not been found; he was the horse Sam was mounted upon when she got injured and fell into a coma. On that first night, however, a furtive, silvery stallion calls to Sam from across the river. Could he be Blackie matured? The rest of the books tell the captivating, fast-paced, heartfelt and marvellous stories of Sam's life on the ranch and all the unforgettable horses and people whom she encounters. They are more modern in date and flavouring than the other novels, but the quality is just as worthy. Once you have dug into just one of these books, you will have to read the others, and once you have done that, you will never fail to recall them.
Jessica Young is a fledgling writer from South Africa who has been passionately involved in the world of the horse for almost a decade. On her much-acclaimed website, Learn about Horses, she offers over two-hundred pages of equine knowledge, ranging from horse breeds to horse literature, from horse care to the basics of horse gentling. She readily invites you to come and learn more about these beloved creatures that we call our trusty steeds.
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