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Treasured Horses Collection
A Horse for Hannah: The Story of a Boston Girl and Her Journey to England, Where She Meets Her Dream Horse, a Gentle Hackney
Although at first unhappy that her birthday present is a trip to England and not a horse, Hannah falls in love with an English Hackney and is distressed that she may have to leave the gentle horse behind.
121 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 19, 2026
As the Treasured Horses Collection nears its end, Coleen Hubbard’s A Horse for Hannah comes in as ⅔ of a really good story — but very little of that fraction involves a true horse-girl story. Hackney horses are present in the story, but the most compelling part of this book is its depiction of a young girl who comes to recognize her own privileges and reaches out in kindness to her very jealous cousin.
In 1851 Boston, young Hannah Brooks is disappointed to learn that her father, a wealthy sea captain aboard the clipper ship Cloud Song, has not gotten her a horse for her eleventh birthday, but rather is taking her on a trip to London to visit his brother’s family, who own and manage a Hackney horse-breeding farm in Shady Glenn. Hannah’s arrival in the English countryside is immediately discouraging, however, as Hannah finds that there is little time to ride amidst all the dirty chores that must be done every day. To make matters worse, Hannah’s cousin Polly despises her for being wealthy and privileged, and she sets out to make her visit utterly miserable. Hannah finds solace in her other cousin Mary and in a beautiful Hackney mare named Gwenny, who takes an instant liking to Hannah. As Hannah learns about privilege and patience, she must find a way to befriend Polly as well as a way to keep from having to leave Gwenny eventually.
The Hackney horse is the breed of choice in A Horse for Hannah, and Hubbard highlights the breed’s main uses as travel, saddle, and carriage horses. Hannah and her Irish nanny Fiona live in the historic Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston, but Hubbard doesn’t dwell on that high-society setting long before moving us into London (where Hannah sees some major landmarks) and the English countryside. Hubbard never specifies the date, but the construction of the Crystal Palace for the Great Exhibition would put this in either 1850 or 1851. Hubbard includes some interesting tidbits about Boston Harbor clipper ships, nautical terminology, equestrian tack, simple riding tips, and horse medicines as well. Sandy Rabinowitz’s illustrations are lovely as always, and Hubbard’s dialogue is stronger than usual, if a bit advanced for its preteen characters. Unfortunately, amid the class differences and family dramas, A Horse for Hannah incorporates very little of the titular relationship between Hannah and Gwenny. The two barely interact throughout the story,
Hannah Brooks is a unique protagonist in the Treasured Horses Collection: she’s from a very wealthy, high-society family, and she has been surrounded by whatever she wants since she was born. She is admittedly a little spoiled and inwardly snobby, but she also has the maturity to realize it; she dreams of a simpler life with parents and sisters so she doesn’t have to be lonely anymore. Hannah’s father is charming and indulgent but always far from home, and her adventures with her cousins in England quickly make her second-guess her desire for a family. I really enjoyed seeing how Hannah grows through the novel — not only does she learn to value hard work and messy chores, but she always treats Polly with kindness no matter how wicked Polly is to her. Polly is one of the meanest characters in the whole series (though Hillary Craig from Riding School Rivals and Kari Lindstrom from Christmas in Silver Lake are up there, too), but Hubbard provides reasons for her bitter jealousy
It’s interesting to see Hannah cope with her obviously privileged life — one that she had no choice in — and learn to reconcile it with the simpler life she enjoys with her cousins. Taking Hannah and Gwenny’s relationship out of A Horse for Hannah would change very little of the actual plot (and would eliminate those slower chapters at the end), and because of that I deducted some points from the mental scoresheet that only I care about. Still, it’s an interesting reversal on the typical rich-girl-comes-to-small-town story, and the first ⅔ of plot is worth a read.
Link to A Horse for Hannah on Internet Archive
In 1851 Boston, young Hannah Brooks is disappointed to learn that her father, a wealthy sea captain aboard the clipper ship Cloud Song, has not gotten her a horse for her eleventh birthday, but rather is taking her on a trip to London to visit his brother’s family, who own and manage a Hackney horse-breeding farm in Shady Glenn. Hannah’s arrival in the English countryside is immediately discouraging, however, as Hannah finds that there is little time to ride amidst all the dirty chores that must be done every day. To make matters worse, Hannah’s cousin Polly despises her for being wealthy and privileged, and she sets out to make her visit utterly miserable. Hannah finds solace in her other cousin Mary and in a beautiful Hackney mare named Gwenny, who takes an instant liking to Hannah. As Hannah learns about privilege and patience, she must find a way to befriend Polly as well as a way to keep from having to leave Gwenny eventually.
The Hackney horse is the breed of choice in A Horse for Hannah, and Hubbard highlights the breed’s main uses as travel, saddle, and carriage horses. Hannah and her Irish nanny Fiona live in the historic Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston, but Hubbard doesn’t dwell on that high-society setting long before moving us into London (where Hannah sees some major landmarks) and the English countryside. Hubbard never specifies the date, but the construction of the Crystal Palace for the Great Exhibition would put this in either 1850 or 1851. Hubbard includes some interesting tidbits about Boston Harbor clipper ships, nautical terminology, equestrian tack, simple riding tips, and horse medicines as well. Sandy Rabinowitz’s illustrations are lovely as always, and Hubbard’s dialogue is stronger than usual, if a bit advanced for its preteen characters. Unfortunately, amid the class differences and family dramas, A Horse for Hannah incorporates very little of the titular relationship between Hannah and Gwenny. The two barely interact throughout the story,
Hannah Brooks is a unique protagonist in the Treasured Horses Collection: she’s from a very wealthy, high-society family, and she has been surrounded by whatever she wants since she was born. She is admittedly a little spoiled and inwardly snobby, but she also has the maturity to realize it; she dreams of a simpler life with parents and sisters so she doesn’t have to be lonely anymore. Hannah’s father is charming and indulgent but always far from home, and her adventures with her cousins in England quickly make her second-guess her desire for a family. I really enjoyed seeing how Hannah grows through the novel — not only does she learn to value hard work and messy chores, but she always treats Polly with kindness no matter how wicked Polly is to her. Polly is one of the meanest characters in the whole series (though Hillary Craig from Riding School Rivals and Kari Lindstrom from Christmas in Silver Lake are up there, too), but Hubbard provides reasons for her bitter jealousy
It’s interesting to see Hannah cope with her obviously privileged life — one that she had no choice in — and learn to reconcile it with the simpler life she enjoys with her cousins. Taking Hannah and Gwenny’s relationship out of A Horse for Hannah would change very little of the actual plot (and would eliminate those slower chapters at the end), and because of that I deducted some points from the mental scoresheet that only I care about. Still, it’s an interesting reversal on the typical rich-girl-comes-to-small-town story, and the first ⅔ of plot is worth a read.
Link to A Horse for Hannah on Internet Archive
September 17, 2021
Turtle just re-read and said: great! Return to library.
Read
January 28, 2009JAR4-Hub
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews