Lonesome Little Colt

by C.W. Anderson

On the farm each colt lived happily with its own pony mother except for the lonesome little colt who had no mother and no friends. Tommy and Mary were kind to the lonesome colt but it was the children's father who found the colt a new mother.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Horses

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

C.W. Anderson - aka Clarence William Anderson
From Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence...

Clarence William Anderson (1891–1971) was an author and illustrator of children's books. Known professionally as C.W. Anderson, Anderson had an interest in horses and drawing.

Anderson started his career by illustrating for other authors, but eventually began developing texts to accompany his realistic and lively black and white drawings. He is best known for his "Billy and Blaze" book series.

The adventures of Billy and Blaze would revolve around proper care of the horse, while teaching a lesson. Anderson would go to great lengths to give accurate information. He would even go on to write Heads Up, Heels Down as a training tool for young horse lovers. All of the stories Anderson wrote would be based on true stories or people that Anderson knew, only the plots were fiction.

By the end of Anderson's life, he had written and illustrated over thirty-five horse books, and also had created covers for the Saturday Evening Post.

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lonesome Little Colt by C.W. Anderson, c. 1961, is the story of an orphaned colt. The little colt's mother had died and he was fed from a bottle. It made him lonesome to watch all the other colts with their mothers, and how their mothers cared for them. The rancher's children noticed how sad the little colt was and tried to make it up to him by bringing him treats and paying him special attention. But it was their father who discovered the solution: a nearby mare who had lost her colt was brought to the ranch, and she and the lonesome little colt hit it off.

C.W. Anderson was best known for his Billy and Blaze series of books. The adventures of Billy and Blaze would revolve around proper care of the horse, while teaching a lesson. Anderson would go to great lengths to give accurate information. He would even go on to write Heads Up, Heels Down as a training tool for young horse lovers. All of the stories Anderson wrote would be based on true stories or people that Anderson knew, only the plots were fiction (from Goodreads).

Recommended for ages 5-8.

[Ruth E. R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

My six-year-old self was absolutely THRILLED when my mother bought me this book from the school book sale. We couldn't afford much, so this was extra special to me. I carried this book with me to school every day, like a great treasure. One time, in my little backpack along with my book, I carried some green peppers I had been given for a snack. Back then I did not care for green peppers, and never ate them. I eventually forgot about them altogether and they rotted next to my book. I still have the book, with a brown stain right in the center front and seeping through to the first few pages. Bummer.

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this in 2022, since I'm a fan of Anderson's, but for the life of me, I cannot remember if I ever owned a copy of this. I know I read a slew of Anderson books from the library when I was a kid.

It's not the most memorable story Anderson ever wrote, but still worthwhile reading. Yeah, no high drama or racing, but still a story of an orphan pony foal in trouble.

For me, the funny part is that all of the foals in the small pony herd were chestnut, despite the different colors of the dams. I guess we know what the stallion looked like. Although the ponies' breed is never mentioned, they resemble American Shetlands.

My copy has a dust jacket with a long, revealing paragraph about Anderson. He relates an episode that inspired a plot change in A Pony for Linda. He claimed this was because of an outburst from his "six year old critic." It turns out Linda was his granddaughter.

I have most of my C. W. Anderson books in a special bag that I can easily grab if there's a fire.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of an orphaned colt, who lost its mother, and was shunned by the other colts when he approached them and their mothers. The farm children noticed the behavior of the lonesome colt, and the other colts, and told their father. Their father took action and found a pony who had lost her colt at birth

[Shawnee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish we knew the new mare's name. She isn't mentioned by name.

[Sandie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read these little easy readers so many times since I was a little girl and I enjoy them so much, even at my ripe old age now!

Just a sweet story about a lonely colt who lost his mother and the children who befriend him and help him find a new mother.

Beautiful illustrations, just love them!