Preach It, Grace: A Girl's Testimony of Faith

by Susan Count

Sharing a pony worked perfectly, until it didn’t.
The pony share Grace worked out with her elderly neighbor was ideal—she thought. Mr. Harvey bought the buckskin gelding’s food and Grace fed him. The pony was important to both of them so it made no sense when the elderly man sent him away. And why won’t he tell her where?

Genres: Childrens

166 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 16, 2024

About the author

Susan Count writes for the joy and entertainment of young readers. She is a best-selling, award winning author of the Dream Horse Adventures Series. Susan confesses to being overly fond of brownies, and horseback riding on forest trails. The Firefly Warriors Club was written for her three grandboys who wanted an adventure of their own. What’s a fairy grandmother to do, but wave her magic pen and create.

Reviews

[Cover Lover Book Review · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Preach It, Grace” is book five in the Dream Pony Riders series. I’ve never really been around horses except for fairs and such, but the gorgeous animals have always intrigued me, so it’s easy to relate to each girl in this series and her love and fascination of the magnificent animal.

Oh, what a beautiful story, with the perfect blend of heart-rending and heart-stirring moments. Grace stole my heart, especially how she serves her elderly neighbor. The elements of faith shine such a bright light and stirs so many emotions.

This story is perfect for young horse lovers or animal lovers in general and brings much more depth than I expected. The peek into dementia and how it affects all is especially touching. A beautiful story of faith and friendship. This is my favorite of the series.

First Line: The day the buckskin pony moved in next door, Grace fell in love.
Series: Dream Pony Riders, book 5
Genre: Children
Author: Susan Count
Page Count: 173
Reading Age: 8-12

#CoverLoverBookReview received a complimentary copy of this book.
Opinions are 100% mine.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

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"Preach It Grace" by Susan Count is a great read for young girls who likes horses. It'is a great story about what love and faith can do. This book is book number 5 of 6 I haven't read any of the others, but I didn't have trouble falling the story so I believe that maybe they could be stand alones . But I can tell you that after reading this book I definitely want to read the others. I really like Grace's Determination to do the right thing even when it seemed like all odds were against her. I love to be relationship between Grace and her elderly neighbor. I definitely recommend this book.
I received a complementary copy from the author and Celebrate Lit and these opinions are my own.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Preach It, Grace is the fifth book in Susan Count’s Dream Pony Riders series for older elementary children. I have not read the other books in the series. While I did at times feel I might be missing information, it did not detract from my enjoyment of the story.
Older elementary children are often interested in horse/pony stories making this a great title for the age group. Grace is like many of the girls who will read this title. She is willing to do what she needs to in order to spend time with the pony she loves. She also exhibits love, caring and understanding for her elderly neighbor. Grace is a preacher’s daughter and her faith plays a heavy role in the story, even when others ridicule her for her faith.
Preach It, Grace would be a great addition to a K-12 Christian school library. It is appropriate for older elementary-aged children as well as some middle schoolers.
I received a complimentary copy of Preach It, Grace. This is my honest review.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Preach It, Grace: A Girl's Testimony of Faith is the fifth installment from the Dream Pony Riders series by Susan Count. Even though it is part of a series and since I have not read the other books in it, I believe it can easily be read as a stand alone. I enjoyed this story of faith with lessons to be learned by the reader. I loved it.

I am going to give Preach It, Grace: A Girl's Testimony of Faith five stars. I recommend it for readers between the ages of seven and twelves years old, as well as, those who are horse lovers. I would love to read the other books from the Dream Pony Riders series to see what happened previously.



I received a paperback copy of Susan Count's Preach It, Grace: A Girl's Testimony of Faith from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.

[Wendy Andrus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horses and preteen/earliteen girls seem to go together, don't they? I know that's when I was first introduced to the love of horses.

Preach It, Grace will certainly delight any young. horse-loving reader. It's like a young equestrian's training manual, in story form. The details Ms. Count includes about horse care and learning to ride are informative. She definitely knows her stuff!

Even though this is the fifth in the "Dream Pony" series, it seems to work well as a stand alone. But I definitely want to go back and read the rest of the series, myself, now!

If you have a young horse-loving, equestrian wannabe in your family, you'll certainly want to grab a copy of Preach It, Grace!

[Crystalfire Studios]

Heartwrenching and fun, tearjerking and beautiful. I love this book! Finally, a horse story by a Christian author!

[Deana Dick · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is geared towards middle school children, but I absolutely loved it. It brought such nice memories for me. Each summer when I was younger, we would go to my granddad’s farm in Oklahoma. He always has a pony for us to ride. I can still remember how excited I was to be on this beau and graceful animal. It was easy for me to relate to Grace as my dad was a preacher as well.

Grace is such a sweet young girl who loves Preacher the pony. She helps her neighbor who own the horse care for it. It was easy for Grace to fall in love with the horse. All Preacher needed was someone to show it love and attention. I liked how she always took time to spend with Mr. Harvey. She loves helping him in the garden as well as collecting eggs for him. She does start to feel like Mr. Harvey doesn’t want to keep Preacher anymore. This makes Grace very sad.

The relationship between Grace and Mr. Harvey is very special. I loved how she always visited him everyday. She shares Jesus with him hoping someday he will ask Him into his heart. As Mr. Harvey slowly starts to forget things, Grace realizes he may forget her. I loved how the author illustrates how Grace never gave up her dream of riding Preacher someday. The best part of the story is the very special gift Mr. Harvey received because a special little girl never gave up on him.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Preach It, Grace is a wonderful book for young girls. After all, everyone little girl and even most boys dream of having a horse. I know I did at that age. My kids don’t dream of it because it’s always been their reality but I can tell you they’re still horse obsessed!

I really love that this book has a great message. Within the pages, it lays out the plan for salvation and just does a wonderful job of convincing everyone that they are loved by God.

Grace has a good heart and she loves to serve God. I really loved how she was with her elderly neighbor. Too often I see that most people want to avoid the elderly. As someone who has spent years working in elder care whether in their homes or in a nursing home, it breaks my heart at the lack of family and friends who visit them.

This book has a little bit of “mystery” and a lot of love. If you’re looking for a good book for your tween/teen then I highly recommend this one. It is also the fifth book in the series so you’ll have several books for them to read. I think the set would be a great Christmas or birthday present.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

[Emma Filbrun · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful story of a young girl learning how to get along with a grumpy old man who is rapidly sinking into dementia. Grace’s mother did all she could to help the neighbor, and Grace took over caring for his pony. Maybe her motives weren’t altogether pure, since she desperately wanted a pony of her own, but the pony did need care! During the summer, Grace learned a lot about trusting God and obeying her parents. She also learned a lot about humility, not thinking she knew everything and could figure things out on her own, and how to get along with bullies. I also liked the way Grace’s parents were involved in her life, both encouraging her and giving consequences for bad decisions that Grace made. They were fair but firm. Also, the Gospel message is clearly shared, without preachiness. This is a good book for girls who love horses.
Language I didn’t appreciate: Chapter 1 includes “hurt like…the dickens” and “darn good.” Chapter 3: A man mentions cussing.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

[Mary Hake · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains much more than a simple story about a girl who loves horses and wants to learn to care for them and ride them. The tale portrays a determined girl who works toward her goals and cares about others, like her elderly neighbor whose memory is failing. I don’t recall reading a children’s book dealing with dementia, and this shows it naturally and accurately. Of course, the story has trials and setbacks too, along with some surprises. Grace is an only child, which is not so common in kids’ stories, but works well in this novel so the focus in her family isn’t disrupted from her drama. The author did a good job with the realistic characters and plot, weaving facts about horses into the dialogue—so readers learn along with Grace. I think this book would make a great read-aloud and discussion generator in a family setting or a classroom. By the way, the horse she cares for is named Preacher, so the title comes from that. I received a copy from Celebrate Lit. All opinions are my own.

[Cindy]

I'm not sure if the moral of the story is about loving your neighbor or hounding all of the adults in your life until they finally give you what you want, but I overall enjoyed this book. Even though I loved horse books when I was younger, though, I think I would have had a hard time reading this when I was in the target reading-age demographic, because I would have felt both annoyance and secondhand embarrassment at some of the things Grace said and did. As an adult, I think she's a realistic and overall likeable character, but I would have been irritated by her when I was younger.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book 5 in this wonderful series is so touching. It’s about faithfulness to her neighbor and his pony but most important, it was Grace’s faith to God. I love this series so much because it’s about love and friendship and their love for ponies. I’m honored that the author trusted me enough to read this series and enjoy the experience. I highly recommend this book and series to all ages. It has faith and values that our children can learn from.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful story, with the purpose that your faith grows.