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Thoroughbred #1
A Horse Called Wonder
Ashleigh Griffen swore she'd never give her heart to another horse -- not after a terrible disease wiped out her family's breeding farm, along with Ashleigh's favorite mare, Stardust. Now the Griffens are starting over as breeding managers at Townsend Acres, and Ashleigh's sure she is going to hate living there. Then a small, sickly foal is born -- a beautiful copper filly that looks like Stardust. No one thinks the foal will live or that it's worth trying to save. No one but Ashleigh. Can one girl's love alone work miracles? Read Thoroughbred and experience the love and friendship between a determined girl and a very special filly.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
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3415 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 206 reviews
October 23, 2017
Absolutely loved this series as a kid! This might be the very first "series" (aside from Dr. Seuss obviously) as a kid that REALLY got me into reading. I have loved horses ever since I could say the word, and this just wrapped everything I loved in a wonderful story. You would always see me with a book in my hand. If I got grounded (I was a good kid I swear)...no problem! Give me a book and I'm good for hours. I guess this series just holds a special place in my heart because of it introducing me into the wonderful world of books. When I "outgrew" these books because I read them a bazillion times, I wanted to donate them so another girl could enjoy the worn down books like I did. I literally cried when I gave them away! I hope the next girl loved them too.
July 30, 2009
I've always been a horse crazy person. As a horse crazy little girl with little actual access to horses (I grew up in the city,) most of my horse love centered around any horse fiction that I could get my hands on. I discovered the Thoroughbred series at around 11 or 12 during one of the school book fairs, and became hooked. The story focuses (for the first 6 or 7 books, at least) around a young girl of 11 or 12 who works to save a horse named Wonder. Through her love and total devotion, Wonder goes on to become a champion racehorse. While the plot may sound cliche, it was still emotionally riveting to a little girl who desperately wanted a horse of her own. Now that I'm a horse crazy adult, I still understand the pull that books like the Thoroughbred series and the Saddle Club books have for young girls (and boys.)
Having read some of the later books in the series as a teenager, I'll explain some of the ratings I've given the series. Books 1-5 focus exclusively on Ashleigh and Wonder, and are by far the best books in the series, with the notable exception of the story arc "Without Wonder," which I believe starts at book 36. Later books focus on Ashleigh's daughter Christina and her cousin Melanie. While these books are great in their own right, they're just not as moving as the original Ashleigh arc. The "Super" editions, including books like Ashleigh's diary, were also great, although not as good as books 1-5.
Having read some of the later books in the series as a teenager, I'll explain some of the ratings I've given the series. Books 1-5 focus exclusively on Ashleigh and Wonder, and are by far the best books in the series, with the notable exception of the story arc "Without Wonder," which I believe starts at book 36. Later books focus on Ashleigh's daughter Christina and her cousin Melanie. While these books are great in their own right, they're just not as moving as the original Ashleigh arc. The "Super" editions, including books like Ashleigh's diary, were also great, although not as good as books 1-5.
April 7, 2008
Good book. Not... more like GREAT BOOK!!! It's a little slow at first, then as you get more toward the middle, you can't put it down! Actually, the whole series is like that. I'm now reading the 6th one, and is soooooo good.
June 9, 2013
This may have been the one book that started my horse obsession. As a young teen, the library became my favorite place to go. I found this book by accident, and the rest is history. I read the first three in the series and was forced to stop because it was all the library had. One day while I was in there, the librarian pointed out an entire box full of the series, left by a Mom whose daughter grew out of the horse stage. I read the entire series in just a few weeks and bought as many as I could after that. That was back when books were only around $7.99 a piece. These books bring me back to summertime when I was younger, sitting outside with a glass of water and my horse books. I wish I could go back for just one day!
Joanna Campbell definitely wrote some of best horse books out there. I recommend these to any horse crazy girl out there.
Joanna Campbell definitely wrote some of best horse books out there. I recommend these to any horse crazy girl out there.
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May 10, 2012Indulging my inner child.
Wonder has a snip on her nose, not a blaze! This cover is wrong. Minutely, but wrong. LOL!
I think I would have enjoyed this book a lot more when I was a child. Because, obviously, that's the age range it's appealing to. I was horse mad and devoured everything with a pony on the cover.
The best thing about this book is probably the wish fulfilment angle. I reckon a lot of young horse-crazy girls would love the idea of living in Ashleigh's shoes and raising their very own filly.
I love Wonder. I've always loved the way Joanna Campbell writes about horses. Sometimes it's not very realistic - the horses understand things way too much - but it's a nice story to read because you want to believe that horses are smarter than they really are. They're not anthropomorphised, but they're given way too much credit. It's a fantasy that I welcome.
Ashleigh's a realistic character as well. She's not perfect. She struggles to balance her school life with her horsey responsibilities. Her grades fall and her health suffers as she concentrated more on Wonder.
I'd almost go so far as to say that I wish this book was longer, but it's a children's book so I won't.
I want to track down all the books in the series up to number 23 (afterwards it's a whole cast change). Wish me luck!
Wonder has a snip on her nose, not a blaze! This cover is wrong. Minutely, but wrong. LOL!
I think I would have enjoyed this book a lot more when I was a child. Because, obviously, that's the age range it's appealing to. I was horse mad and devoured everything with a pony on the cover.
The best thing about this book is probably the wish fulfilment angle. I reckon a lot of young horse-crazy girls would love the idea of living in Ashleigh's shoes and raising their very own filly.
I love Wonder. I've always loved the way Joanna Campbell writes about horses. Sometimes it's not very realistic - the horses understand things way too much - but it's a nice story to read because you want to believe that horses are smarter than they really are. They're not anthropomorphised, but they're given way too much credit. It's a fantasy that I welcome.
Ashleigh's a realistic character as well. She's not perfect. She struggles to balance her school life with her horsey responsibilities. Her grades fall and her health suffers as she concentrated more on Wonder.
I'd almost go so far as to say that I wish this book was longer, but it's a children's book so I won't.
I want to track down all the books in the series up to number 23 (afterwards it's a whole cast change). Wish me luck!
August 17, 2022
This is a wholesome, if slightly cheesy, book for young horse lovers. But it's only cheesy if you're older ;) And even then, I was still able to enjoy it. It was nice, actually, to just read a lovey-dovey book about horses like old times, a good thing to relax into at the end of the day. I'm not sure how much of the series I'll keep reading, if any, but it was nice to reread this one.
January 28, 2011
This book was about Ashleigh Griffen, a young girl who just moved from her old family stable, Edgarwood, to a much larger racehorse stable called Townsend Acres. Her family had been breeding Thoroughbred horses for racing when a horrible disease went though the horses and killed many. Now the family is hoping for a new start by becoming breeding managers at Townsend Acres.
Ashleigh is unhappy about moving until she discovers Wonder, a small, sickly filly expected to die. Ashleigh fights to take care of the little filly, helping her recover and gain strength. She comes to love the gorgeous filly and names her Ashleigh's Wonder.
During the entire book she fights for her right to care for the filly and endures sickness, pain and doubt. She has to convince Mr.Townsend that Wonder is worth it.
I really liked this book because it was about horses.
Ashleigh is unhappy about moving until she discovers Wonder, a small, sickly filly expected to die. Ashleigh fights to take care of the little filly, helping her recover and gain strength. She comes to love the gorgeous filly and names her Ashleigh's Wonder.
During the entire book she fights for her right to care for the filly and endures sickness, pain and doubt. She has to convince Mr.Townsend that Wonder is worth it.
I really liked this book because it was about horses.
April 21, 2012
Oh this book! I LOVED this entire series when I was around 7 or 8 eight years old, and I continued reading them until I was about 11 or 12 (it was up to #50-something by then, I think). I don't have my copies any more but I am tempted to buy the first few again just for sentimental reasons. This book and the next two or three about Ashleigh and Wonder are probably still the best of the bunch, but the whole series is pretty cute. I've ridden all my life (hunter/jumper for the past ten years) and while this is mostly racing, it's still great fun for a horse-crazy young girl.
July 25, 2024
EDIT: I recently re-read this and was surprised to realize that Wonder does not look like the foal on the cover. In the book, she does not have a blaze but just a snip. It's hard for me not to think of her as having a blaze, since the covers are so ingrained in my head. It's a bit like learning that Sherlock Holmes never smoked a Meerschaum pipe in any of the books or stories Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote.
The reasonably good beginning to what would ultimately become a Nancy-Drew type crap young adult series. Only the first five books in the series (apparently written by Campbell, real name Jo Ann Simon) are any good -- the rest is warmed-over rehash of the first five books. The Thoroughbred series was eventually written by a conglomeration of ghostwriters when Campbel/Simon quit due to burnout. Although some young adult series are entertaining for adults to read, I found the Thoroughbred series (from book 6 to 10) to be staggeringly tedious. I stopped buying them around book 10 but occasionally the later books I've borrowed from my local library have been stress-reducing fun reads.
One weird part I'd forgotten until I recently re-read the book: Briefly shown to the Griffen family is a prize bay stallion named BARBERO. (Just a slight spelling difference from the ill-fated 2006 Kentucky Derby winner BARBARO.) I know that eventually there will be a tragic racehorse sharing the same name as a past fictional racehorse BUT STILL--
There are some really good moments in this book. I particularly enjoyed that Wonder was given a distinct personality and wasn't just a horse in the background like in most other girl-and-horse books. I also liked that Ashliegh felt pretty helpless because there were so many things out of her control and yet she tried anyway, fully knowing that her efforts could be futile. I missed that lesson the first dozen or so times I read this but now in my 40s I think I got it.
The reasonably good beginning to what would ultimately become a Nancy-Drew type crap young adult series. Only the first five books in the series (apparently written by Campbell, real name Jo Ann Simon) are any good -- the rest is warmed-over rehash of the first five books. The Thoroughbred series was eventually written by a conglomeration of ghostwriters when Campbel/Simon quit due to burnout. Although some young adult series are entertaining for adults to read, I found the Thoroughbred series (from book 6 to 10) to be staggeringly tedious. I stopped buying them around book 10 but occasionally the later books I've borrowed from my local library have been stress-reducing fun reads.
One weird part I'd forgotten until I recently re-read the book: Briefly shown to the Griffen family is a prize bay stallion named BARBERO. (Just a slight spelling difference from the ill-fated 2006 Kentucky Derby winner BARBARO.) I know that eventually there will be a tragic racehorse sharing the same name as a past fictional racehorse BUT STILL--
There are some really good moments in this book. I particularly enjoyed that Wonder was given a distinct personality and wasn't just a horse in the background like in most other girl-and-horse books. I also liked that Ashliegh felt pretty helpless because there were so many things out of her control and yet she tried anyway, fully knowing that her efforts could be futile. I missed that lesson the first dozen or so times I read this but now in my 40s I think I got it.
February 20, 2024
Wonder is a sickly small foal who takes many days before she can stand up after she is born. Ashely is a horse crazy girl who slepts in the stable with Wonder and helps Wonder get healthy. This story is wonderful and I cannot wait to read the whole series!
February 9, 2017
I liked this a lot the first time I read it as a youngster, but it suffers on re-readings. Particularly as an adult--I know it's aimed at kids, but the best in children's literature is usually enjoyable for adults as well--I thought it was not...great. It was just okay.
The writing is simplistic, as one would expect from a kids' book. I might go so far as to say too much so, like the author doesn't expect children to be able to understand words longer than five letters, or complex sentence structures.... I don't know. I'm not an expert at children, I'm not really sure what they would and wouldn't understand, but I think most kids in the age demographic this book is going for would find this an easy read.
The story is very simple but good. A girl loves a pretty little filly, but it's born very sick and she has to nurse it back to health, and then after it gets better, she has to convince the filly's owner to keep her. A simple but admirable struggle, and a good look at the love that can grow between a pet and a child. Ashleigh doesn't help the filly all by herself, she has adult aid, so that's fairly realistic. Also realistic is the fact that Ashleigh's grades suffer while she pays all of her attention to Wonder.
Ashleigh herself is supposed to be the 'every-girl', I guess, so that any horse-crazy girl can identify with her. I didn't really identify with her as a kid, and as an adult I found her overly dramatic and slightly annoying. Still, she's relatively harmless as protagonists go.
All in all, I think this is a pretty harmless book series, but your kid could probably be reading something better, and adults might as well not even bother.
The writing is simplistic, as one would expect from a kids' book. I might go so far as to say too much so, like the author doesn't expect children to be able to understand words longer than five letters, or complex sentence structures.... I don't know. I'm not an expert at children, I'm not really sure what they would and wouldn't understand, but I think most kids in the age demographic this book is going for would find this an easy read.
The story is very simple but good. A girl loves a pretty little filly, but it's born very sick and she has to nurse it back to health, and then after it gets better, she has to convince the filly's owner to keep her. A simple but admirable struggle, and a good look at the love that can grow between a pet and a child. Ashleigh doesn't help the filly all by herself, she has adult aid, so that's fairly realistic. Also realistic is the fact that Ashleigh's grades suffer while she pays all of her attention to Wonder.
Ashleigh herself is supposed to be the 'every-girl', I guess, so that any horse-crazy girl can identify with her. I didn't really identify with her as a kid, and as an adult I found her overly dramatic and slightly annoying. Still, she's relatively harmless as protagonists go.
All in all, I think this is a pretty harmless book series, but your kid could probably be reading something better, and adults might as well not even bother.
February 28, 2017
I will forever love this series. Growing up horse crazy, these books were my absolute favorite, and years later, I've decided to reread them.
Ashleigh Griffen isn't interested in getting close to any of the horses at Townsend Acres. Her parents were lucky enough to assume the roles of breeding managers at the prestigious farm, but it wouldn't be the same as owning their own horses like they did at Edgardale before the devastating illness took over. Most of their horses had died and those who survived had to be sold, including Ashleigh's favorite horse.
Still, Ashleigh finds herself hanging around the barns and getting to know all the racehorses at Townsend Acres. Holly is an old broodmare that is due any day to one of the farm's most promising studs, Townsend Pride. When she finally delivers a beautiful foal, Ashleigh is immediately drawn to the Thoroughbred filly. Unfortunately, the filly is weak and unable to stand or nurse.
Ashleigh cannot allow another horse to die, so she puts all of her effort and time into the little foal that soon becomes known as Ashleigh's Wonder. With help from stables hands and family, Ashleigh fights the uphill battles that Wonder must face throughout her first year of life. Everyone questions if Wonder is truly worth saving, but Ashleigh knows she is a special horse.
Horse lovers will relate to this book in so many ways, from the highs of riding, the excitement of new foals, to the lows of sickness and the sadness of letting go of the precious animals that we so dearly love. I enjoyed this book just as much as I did 15 years ago and look forward to reading the rest of the series again.
Ashleigh Griffen isn't interested in getting close to any of the horses at Townsend Acres. Her parents were lucky enough to assume the roles of breeding managers at the prestigious farm, but it wouldn't be the same as owning their own horses like they did at Edgardale before the devastating illness took over. Most of their horses had died and those who survived had to be sold, including Ashleigh's favorite horse.
Still, Ashleigh finds herself hanging around the barns and getting to know all the racehorses at Townsend Acres. Holly is an old broodmare that is due any day to one of the farm's most promising studs, Townsend Pride. When she finally delivers a beautiful foal, Ashleigh is immediately drawn to the Thoroughbred filly. Unfortunately, the filly is weak and unable to stand or nurse.
Ashleigh cannot allow another horse to die, so she puts all of her effort and time into the little foal that soon becomes known as Ashleigh's Wonder. With help from stables hands and family, Ashleigh fights the uphill battles that Wonder must face throughout her first year of life. Everyone questions if Wonder is truly worth saving, but Ashleigh knows she is a special horse.
Horse lovers will relate to this book in so many ways, from the highs of riding, the excitement of new foals, to the lows of sickness and the sadness of letting go of the precious animals that we so dearly love. I enjoyed this book just as much as I did 15 years ago and look forward to reading the rest of the series again.
March 10, 2017
2016: still one of the best horse series for kids. still my favorite.
2015: Ahhh, such a flashback to the past. I was wondering if these would stand up to the test of time for me and it sure did. Ashleigh is such a fighter, reminds me of how determined I used to be with horses. It may have even brought back a bit too many memories. I grew up riding at a big barn and it was me and four other girls that formed a bit of a posse. The girl I was closest to and I would read these books and talk about them all the time, even sneaking out behind the barn and racing our horses. I had a 23 year old retired Thoroughbred racehorse at the time so it was just a blast to go play jockey with her and the other girls. All because of these books. I wish I had known when I was reading them but I just found out the author of this lives not too far away from me. The author's note in the back shows her with a horse in Maine. I must have forgotten about that over the years. Anyway, I can't give this a legitimate review because it's so near and dear to me after almost 20 years since I first read them. I will say they are amazing books for kids who do ride horses as a lot of the terminology is very accurate. My biggest pet peeve with horse books is when the author doesn't know the horse world. Flaws are so obvious to horsey kids who know the lingo. I'm now on a mission to get the whole series again, so nice to have a part of my horse world with me again now that I can't ride anymore.
2015: Ahhh, such a flashback to the past. I was wondering if these would stand up to the test of time for me and it sure did. Ashleigh is such a fighter, reminds me of how determined I used to be with horses. It may have even brought back a bit too many memories. I grew up riding at a big barn and it was me and four other girls that formed a bit of a posse. The girl I was closest to and I would read these books and talk about them all the time, even sneaking out behind the barn and racing our horses. I had a 23 year old retired Thoroughbred racehorse at the time so it was just a blast to go play jockey with her and the other girls. All because of these books. I wish I had known when I was reading them but I just found out the author of this lives not too far away from me. The author's note in the back shows her with a horse in Maine. I must have forgotten about that over the years. Anyway, I can't give this a legitimate review because it's so near and dear to me after almost 20 years since I first read them. I will say they are amazing books for kids who do ride horses as a lot of the terminology is very accurate. My biggest pet peeve with horse books is when the author doesn't know the horse world. Flaws are so obvious to horsey kids who know the lingo. I'm now on a mission to get the whole series again, so nice to have a part of my horse world with me again now that I can't ride anymore.
December 2, 2012
After a disease wiped out her family's breeding farm, Ashleigh Griffen swore she would never care about another horse again. When her family relocated as breeding managers at Townsend Acres, Ashleigh fell in love with a small foal named Wonder. No one but Ashleigh thinks the sickly foal will survive, so with love and care, Ashleigh does her best to prove them all wrong. This book was simply heartfelt and touching as I read how Ashleigh helped Wonder with the odds against her. It strengthened my love for animals, as I became more hopeful about difficult situations. I think it's important to share this message of fighting for what you believe in with children in the upper grades as they start to come up with their own mindset and perspectives.
October 22, 2017
Happy sighs!! One of my favourite series as a middle grade reader. I've got to re-read it as an adult to see how it compares.
But I remember it as being a wholesome book about a girl caring for her horse with a love of her sport. There's some sad bits but nothing that shocked my young, impressionable self. Awesome series for emotional children.
But I remember it as being a wholesome book about a girl caring for her horse with a love of her sport. There's some sad bits but nothing that shocked my young, impressionable self. Awesome series for emotional children.
September 1, 2011
I love this series :) I have loved horses since I was a little girl, & will readily admit to reading everything I could get my hands on about them.
June 21, 2021
This book is so awesome especially because I have horses and saving a filly is always what I have wanted to do.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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November 19, 2018I was obsessed with these books as a kid. I never finished the series because it was still being written after I had “outgrown” the books. Excited to be re-reading now in an attempt to read some lighter books and revisit my childhood!
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September 10, 2017I read so many of these as a child and was greatly disappointed when I grew taller than 4' and my dreams of being a jockey were shattered. LOL.
February 19, 2023
De nostalgie!
En nog steeds vind ik het een heel leuk boek
En nog steeds vind ik het een heel leuk boek
May 21, 2023
Lang geleden dit boek eens gelezen was toen jaar of 7. Maar blijft wel een van de beste paardenboeken😅😂
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December 28, 2023Läste om några barndomsfavoriter i somras, nostalgin var på topp
July 22, 2025
Cute horse story
October 2, 2016
This is one of those books that I'd had for years and only just now got around to reading. The frustrating part...? Now I want to read the rest of the series and have just realized the challenge involved in tracking them all down. It's going to be a lot of work!
I loved Ashleigh. I loved her dedication in working with the foal, and the reality of how the story is portrayed. Honestly, before having a foal of my own to tend, I might have questioned more here. I think of course there's a lot of 'worst case scenario' kind of drama in putting the filly in danger so that there would be conflict. But the author seems to know her stuff where horses themselves are concerned, and for that I liked this book.
And because it's a nice glimpse into the world of horse racing.
Having been raised on "The Black Stallion" books, it's fun to see something a little different that feels familiar I think from that upbringing. I think there's a lot of room for character growth. As I said, I definitely want to read more.
I loved Ashleigh. I loved her dedication in working with the foal, and the reality of how the story is portrayed. Honestly, before having a foal of my own to tend, I might have questioned more here. I think of course there's a lot of 'worst case scenario' kind of drama in putting the filly in danger so that there would be conflict. But the author seems to know her stuff where horses themselves are concerned, and for that I liked this book.
And because it's a nice glimpse into the world of horse racing.
Having been raised on "The Black Stallion" books, it's fun to see something a little different that feels familiar I think from that upbringing. I think there's a lot of room for character growth. As I said, I definitely want to read more.
August 11, 2010
I remember when my mom first gave me this book, I was a devoted Pony Pals reader and this book was way too long! I read the first chapter and thought it wasn't ever going to end... It sat on my nightstand for quite some time before I picked it up again and read it straight through. Boy, was I glad I did. Every time we went to the mall after that, I would grab another Thoroughbred book or two from Waldenbooks. For a couple years I collected them up to number 23 when it became harder to find them and I just HAD to read them all in their correct order. So, I stopped getting them and just read the first 23 books two or three times a piece. Then, I found the amazing world of Amazon.com and started looking for the used ones. Then ebay.com caught my eye and I won a box of 42 Thoroughbred books, which filled a big chunk of my collection. Then, I had to start filling the gaps and read them as I got them. Then, I got out of the books for a while, feeling I was too old for them (they are 8-12 age group after all). But then I got back into them again and was determined to finish the whole series no matter how old I got, they are great books. Finally, at the age of 19, I have all 94 books. I am still working my way through them, although I have to admit the first generation is a lot better than the second.
May 13, 2008
are these books out of print??! why is there no cover?
man, this was one of the formative series of my childhood, and i couldn't WAIT for the next book to come out.
this is the story of a girl who loses her best friend (her horse, stardust), and ends up working at another farm. things aren't looking good until a sick foal is born, one that will breathe life into ashleigh, the farm, and everyone around her.
totally cheesy in that perfect way, this is a great read for a kid who loves animals, much less someone obsessed with horses. although often times the series leans toward the not-possible-in-reality side of things, there's still enough to keep you coming back. and on the horse side of things, everything is spot on.
of course, i couldn't help but be thrilled when the series took a turn and they brought eventing into the picture. but still, it's ashleigh and wonder who start the whole thing, and really, it's their series. at some point, it will break your heart, but all good books do that, don't they?
man, this was one of the formative series of my childhood, and i couldn't WAIT for the next book to come out.
this is the story of a girl who loses her best friend (her horse, stardust), and ends up working at another farm. things aren't looking good until a sick foal is born, one that will breathe life into ashleigh, the farm, and everyone around her.
totally cheesy in that perfect way, this is a great read for a kid who loves animals, much less someone obsessed with horses. although often times the series leans toward the not-possible-in-reality side of things, there's still enough to keep you coming back. and on the horse side of things, everything is spot on.
of course, i couldn't help but be thrilled when the series took a turn and they brought eventing into the picture. but still, it's ashleigh and wonder who start the whole thing, and really, it's their series. at some point, it will break your heart, but all good books do that, don't they?
December 4, 2013
When I was younger, I absolutely loved these books! I had my nose stuck in them all the time, and they really fueled my love of reading. I recently decided that since I loved them so much as a kid, I wanted to reread them now. I bought the first 7 books on Amazon and jumped right in when they were delivered. These books are as good as I remember. Ashleigh is a very stubborn and smart young girl who just wants to save a sick foal. She nurtures Wonder every day in hope that Wonder will continue to survive. With the help of her family and friends, Ashleigh learns what it means to be responsible and fight for what you believe in.
Young kids will also learn so much about horses through reading these stories. I had 3 horses growing up, so I knew enough, but after reading these, I felt like I knew so much more about them, and not just terminology, but how they should be treated with respect. These stories are highly recommended for young children, especially those with an interest in horses (:
Pagesofcomfort.blogspot.com
Young kids will also learn so much about horses through reading these stories. I had 3 horses growing up, so I knew enough, but after reading these, I felt like I knew so much more about them, and not just terminology, but how they should be treated with respect. These stories are highly recommended for young children, especially those with an interest in horses (:
Pagesofcomfort.blogspot.com
June 8, 2012
Wonder Horse is a story about how a former slave, Bill Key from the 1800's had such a passion for animals and grew up to be a vet who wanted to teach others the importance of kindness to animals. Not only that, but how his horse, Jim Key was educated through kindness. Bill or "Doc" taught Jim to read, identify primary colors,math and much more. He then held an event to show people all that Jim knew. When they saw all Jim could do they believed it was all a hoax. After professors from Harvard University examined Jim Key they came to they announced that it was not a hoax, but Jim really was educated by kindess. I think this book would be very appealing to primary students especially animal lovers. This is a great story to share with kids to show the importance of not allowing animal cruelty. Wonder Horse is a nominee for the 2012-13 South Carolina Picture Book Award.
October 18, 2016
I like that Asliegh finds a new horse like her old one Stardust. I don't like that they had to move from their farm to a different one they didn't own. I like that she gets to name a new born foal WONDER. I like that Asliegh starts to like the new farm they are living on. I also like that she helps the foal get big and strong.
Asliegh family moves to another farm to help over there. They cannot go back to their farm, and that makes Asliegh sad. Soon she befriends a horse like her old one on the farm they had owned. That horse has a foal and it is weak. Everyone wants to get rid of the foal. But Asliegh takes care of the horse and names it Wonder. She hopes it will grow into a strong and healthy horse.
Asliegh family moves to another farm to help over there. They cannot go back to their farm, and that makes Asliegh sad. Soon she befriends a horse like her old one on the farm they had owned. That horse has a foal and it is weak. Everyone wants to get rid of the foal. But Asliegh takes care of the horse and names it Wonder. She hopes it will grow into a strong and healthy horse.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 206 reviews