The Enchanted Horse

by Magdalen Nabb, Julek Heller (Illustrator)

A lonely young girl living on a remote farm with her work obsessed-parents cares for an old and battered wooden horse with such devotion that it comes to life.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Horses, Animals, Christmas, Young Adult

90 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

MAGDALEN NABB was born in Lancashire in 1947 and trained as a potter. In 1975 she abandoned pottery, sold her home and her car, and came to Florence with her son, knowing nobody and speaking no Italian. She has lived there ever since, and pursues a dual career as crime writer and children's author.

She has written fourteen crime novels featuring Marshal Guarnaccia of the carabinieri, all set in Florence, which she describes as 'a very secret city. Walk down any residential street and you have no idea what is going on behind those blank walls. It's a problem the Marshal comes up against all the time.'

Magdalen Nabb also writes the immensely successful Josie Smith books, set in her native Lancashire, which form the basis of the Granada children's TV series, Josie Smith, scripted by the author. Her first book, Josie Smith, was runner-up for the Guardian Children's Fiction Award in 1989, and in l99l, Josie Smith and Eileen was winner of the prestigious Smarties Book Prize for the 6-8 age group.

Series:
* Marshal Guarnaccia Mystery
* Josie Smith

Reviews

[Abby Rose]

This was a childhood favorite of mine I very much enjoyed when I was learning to read.

It is the beautiful story of a little girl named Irina who gets it in her head that she wants -- as her Christmas gift one year -- a strange, dirty "rocking horse" with no rocker she spies in the window of a shop run by an old blind man.

Timeless and moving, the story continues as Irina's horse magically comes to life and she has to accept that the magical horse is God's creature, not hers, and shall do what it will, and ultimately let it go free.

There is a happy ending, but I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't read this lovely little book yet.

Highly recommended.

[Nancy]

In our Reading with Kids adventures, the next book to come up is The Enchanted Horse by Magdalen Nabb. This is a short, fast-reading book published in 1992 that I’ve had for many years. I have very fond memories of this book, as it fulfilled the little girl’s horse fantasy, but at the same time it taught an important lesson that I still carry to this day and that I credit to this book.
The story is that Irina, a farm girl, gets a wooden toy horse for a Christmas present. The wooden horse is about the size of a rocking horse, but it comes with a mysterious story from the blind man who runs the junk shop they bought it from. Irina takes care of it as if it were a real horse, and soon enough, it does become a real horse! They take nightly runs together and then Irina learns a life lesson that keeps her humble.
Most of the story is build-up to Irina and Bella (the horse) taking her nightly runs. Irina leads a very different life from the town children and this is made very clear in the storytelling as it describes her change in attitude and learning to grow up. Irina’s parents are very practical people, focusing on the farm and their work more than raising their daughter. This does not mean they are cruel or abusive, but Irina is a dreamer with a lot empathy who has been isolated on the farm. They care for and love her, but they do not understand her.
Irina’s growing up throughout the story is very well done for a children’s book and the detail given to her life allow you to live on the farm with her. The twist at the end, when Bella teaches her another lesson, is fulfilling. The story is sad without being heart-breaking and is more reminiscent of learning to let go rather than true loss.
It is a lovely short read, and if you can get a hold of it and are a horse person, it’s a fun little adventure to help us all remember that first heart-horse that we had to learn to let go of, for whatever reason.

[Rea]

I had this one on cassette as a kid. I used to listen to it over and over. Recommended for young girls who like horses.

[Clare O'Beara]

When a lonely girl sees a wooden toy horse in a junk shop, she decides to buy it, even after hearing the sad tale of the last owner. As she cares for the horse, cleans it up and talks to it, she starts to think the horse Bella is becoming alive.

As well as learning a little about horse care we see that Christmas can be a lonely time and people living on farms are quite isolated. I personally would not recommend asking a horse to lift its feet under its girth so the right hoofs can be cleaned on the left side. I've never heard of that. The idea sounds dangerous and stupid. Otherwise this is a fun tale.

This is an unbiased review.

[Lori Watts]

Enchanted horse is a great link in literacy for descriptive writing and a tool for the children to use their imagination.

This book is about a young lonely girl that comes across a wooden horse in a junk shop. The twist in the story though is that the wooden horse actually comes to life...

The only problem I found with this book is that the girls in the class were more interested in it than the boys, which did mean that their work was not as enthusiastic. This should be considered.

[~☆starlight]

I bought book recently because it was the first book I read as a child and I fell completely in love with it, now rereading it as an adult I feel much the same way. This is a beautiful book I highly recommend it for anybody who has a little girl the book is simply magical a lovely tale about a magical horse brought back to life by Irina one Christmas. The tale deals with subtle lessons and is ultimately about love and friendship this is a lovely book I highly recommend

[Sofia Brito]

Perfect for whole class reading with my Year 4❤️

[superawesomekt]

This is a sweet little story about a young lonely girl Irina and the shabby toy horse she acquires. Irina learns from the horse Bella what it means to truly love: to give up controlling behavior but hold on to empathy. A very unique little story.

[Leaf Warner]

Great book I absolutely loved it definitely recommend

[Fatema Meamari]

One of the most heart-warming, beautiful and enchanting (pun intended) children books out there. Beautiful and very heart wrenching in certain parts. Wonderful read. I wish I'd read this as a kid, it would have had a certain impact on my life. MAKE YOUR KIDS/NIECES AND NEPHEWS/BROTHERS AND SISTERS READ THIS.

[Haneen Asfoora]

I first read this book as a little girl. I loved the magic of it in an everyday setting. I can't place exactly what drew me to the book, but I remember reading it before bed every night for weeks. Now I'm an adult with a little girl of my own, and I can hardly wait for her to be old enough to read it to her before bed, too.

[Susie]

Beautiful story!!!!!

[Hannah Boult]

My favourite book as a child. One of the first proper books I ever read and definitely would love to read again.

[Kris]

Lovely story of a lonely girl and a toy horse--an enchanted horse she comes to care for.

The black and white illustrations were very nice and added to the story.

Copyright 1992

[Em's Adventures]

One of the most beautiful stories I've ever heard. Up there with the little prince!

[Isabella Rae]

When I was little I found the book to upsetting and never finish it… at the ripe age of 26 I finally have.

One star is for the beautiful illustrations! This was the most depressing children’s book I’ve ever read?

1) why is the weight of nearly every character described?

2) how did her parents not realise that Irina is so depressed/isolated that she’s not eating?

3) nothing was resolved! Her parents never stopped emotionally neglecting her. She was still isolated at the end. Yay for her for getting a horse but omg? What was the moral of the story? It’s fine for your parents to use you for free manual labour as long as you have a magic horse to cheer you up????

4) the descriptions of horses being starved to death and beaten was quite a lot

5) can’t believe this poor girl spent a whole year of her life so depressed that she went nearly catatonic and everyone was just unbothered? Give her a bit of medicine and she’ll be fine! Wtf

[SilverNediya]

شاید هم سه‌ونیم
اون بخش‌های برخورداری از آزادی حیوانات بد نبود، فقط کمی جویده‌شده بود به نظرم
محبت ایرنا که باعث شد اسب چوبی عوض بشه هم جالب بود ولی داستان اون شور و قدرتی رو که باهاش شروع شده بود نتونست انگار تا آخر پیش ببره، یه طوری بود
دو بخش با هم خوب چفت‌وبست نشده شاید
برخورد خشن پیرمرده رو با ایرنا نفهمیدم
بچه‌های اینطوری من رو نگران می‌کنن و این نگرانی باعث می‌شه حرصم ازشون دربیاد چون نمی‌دونم باید باهاشون چکار کنم و احساس می‌کنم چون بلد نیستن خوب از خودشون محافظت کنن زیاد ضربه می‌خورن و اینکه نمی‌تونم یادشون بدم چکار کنن، اذیتم می‌کنه

[El ♡]

This was a childhood favourite of mine and for some reason, I’ve recently been itching to read it. Tonight was the night that I gave in. I had forgotten it was a Christmas book but had remembered all the other little details apart from the fact Bella left Irina a foal to look after. This completely and utterly broke my heart and filled me with so much joy simultaneously.

I remember now why I loved this book so much and it will remain one of my most favourite and treasured reads still to this day 💗

[Rowan]

One of favoruite childhood. I feel like I could cry any time I think about this book, but I was so young when I read it that I frequently forget the books title and I doubt it would do much for me as an adult. But I can almost smell the dust in the old antiques shop and the junk barn and the hay and straw and the sweating gallop even though none of these things happened and I definitely never had a horse or a rocking horse, just this book.

[Kerry Taylor]

This was the first “proper” book I read; I must have been 6 years old. I remember picking it out with my Mum at the school “Book Fair.” I read it over and over again for several weeks. The emotions, the Winter setting and the element of magic set off a fire in me. It is to this book that I owe my love of reading. It will always hold a special place for me and it is one of few that I still have to this day (very tattered now). I felt like I’d gone back in time reading it. Beautiful. 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Jay]

This was a childhood favourite I rediscovered recently and decided to reread. It still stands up as a beautiful story with some good ideas, and a glancing take on depression that is unusual for a book in this age range.

[KK]

I really liked this book and would have given it 4 or maybe even 5 stars, but, in my opinion, it has a terrible ending.

[Γιάννης]

A very good book for young readers and a deep meaning for all.

[Jessa Pearl]

I read this as a kid, and it is still one of my favourite stories. Magical!

[Jo Larsen]

Cute to read in a short space of time

[Catherine Rosie]

I love this book

[Jasmine (writethyselff)]

Revisiting a very old book of mine to catch up on my reading goal. I used to love this one!

[Ruby Rose]

Childhood favourite.

[Sian Nelsen]

Complete childhood nostalgia from cover to cover.

[Anna Puleio]

La stuccosità del linguaggio (similitudini e metafore à gogo) cerca di compensare l'assoluta banalità della storia e la mancanza di introspezione dei personaggi.