Becky's Horse

by Winifred Madison

Vintage paperback

152 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

Reviews

[Kerri · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the most part, the horses in this book exist in Becky's imagination. She wishes more than anything for a horse, even though her family live in the city and have no spare money. She knows she'll find a way. What's refreshing about this book is it grounded in something more important that the wish for a horse. Becky's family is struggling, with the father frequently losing his job due to the depression, but they have relatives living in Austria who are going through much worse. The events overseas hang over the family, and end up changing their lives in an unexpected way.

Far from being a generic story about a girl whose greatest worry is whether she can acquire a horse, Becky is a girl who is finding her place in America, the daughter of immigrants who don't always understand some of the things she wants to do --Girl Scouts for example. What is the appeal of pretending to be in danger, pretending to need to survive? Shouldn't you just enjoy the fact that you are safe?

Annoyingly, my copy had quite a few typos, and a confusing mix-up (perhaps) where a street urchin befriended by Becky's sister laments not having a mother, but then later moves away with her mother. It's possible I misread of course, but I did double-check, and I seem to have it right. Perhaps it was another typo.

Overall though, this was a nice enough book that raised some interesting points. It's not particularly horsey, but by the end I didn't feel like that really mattered.

[Britt Meter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I didn't mind this book at all, actually I enjoyed the story and the characters. The book was published in 1975, there were a few spelling mistakes and sentences that were missing in the book. Becky really wants a horse and tries everything to own a horse, but her family life is struggling in the Great Depression; her father is between jobs, her mum is a dressmaker. And Becky's family lives in the city in America. The family also gets letters from Becky's other family in Vienna during World War 2, which makes the story also interesting from two different countries. Becky entered a contest, and the prize is getting a horse named Wonder or two hundred and fifty dollars. The book showed struggles such as Becky's sister Mimi tried dying her hair blonde, and her younger sister Dori whose friend moved houses (twice in the story) Becky has to decide whether to keep Wonder the Horse (even though she lives in the city and not in the country) or to use the money to help her family overseas and her family in America. 4 stars

[Z.K. Dorward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just to be alive is a blessing!
I have had this book for probably 20 years and only just picked it up during my attempt at going through my books to weed them.
I cannot believe I sat on this little gem for so long. It took me a while to get through, because it does ramble a little bit, but this is so much more complex than just a book about a girl wanting a horse. It faces the issues of World War II and living just above the poverty line. It took me a long time to work out that it's set in America, and that Becky is thirteen; I wish that was established a lot sooner. There was also some errors dotted throughout the book, but I was happy to ignore them.

Becky is a selfless girl who makes the choice to give up something she desperately wants in an act of pure kindness to save a life. I did not expect this book to hit me so hard.

[Madeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is about a jewish girl who really wants a horse and can choose between getting one and getting the money her family really needs.Then her uncle and aunt die and leave a 2 year old is Austria.Will she choose to help bring him to America or get Wonder???

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this over and over as a kid; vividly stays with you.

[H.L. Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book when I was in fourth grade because my friends knew I was horse crazy just like the young protagonist. When I first read it, the important part of the story for me was Becky winning a horse, and while I recall the side stories, apparently the hideous truth of the Holocaust had not yet touched my young life because I totally missed what this story was truly about.

I don't know what prompted me to pull this childhood book off my shelf and re-read it, but I'm so glad that I did. I was shocked at what I missed in the story and came to realize that the horse portion was a backdrop for what was truly going on. It doesn't escape my notice that the same thing is occurring for Jews/Israel today.

With my second reading, I paused to ponder the deeper portions of life and this tale. The most rewarding part of my meditations was reinforced by the comment Becky's father made at the end: "Just to be alive is a blessing. Just to live is holy!"

[Lila · Rating 5 out of 5]

my daughter's book.