Find the White Horse

by Dick King-Smith, Larry Wilkes (Illustrator)

Lubber the dog and Squintum the cat join forces with a racing pigeon and a pretty young Irish setter to search for Lubber's home. All he can remember is that he lives in a cottage below a hillside on which is carved a white horse.

Genres: Animals, Childrens, Fiction

128 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 27, 1993

About the author

Dick King-Smith was born and raised in Gloucestershire, England, surrounded by pet animals. After twenty years as a farmer, he turned to teaching and then to writing children's books.

Dick writes mostly about animals: farmyard fantasy, as he likes to call it, often about pigs, his special favorites. He enjoys writing for children, meeting the children who read his books, and knowing that they get enjoyment from what he does.

Among his well-loved books is Babe, The Gallant Pig, which was recently made into a major motion picture, and was nominated for an Academy Award.

Dick lived with his wife in a small 17th-century cottage, about three miles from the house where he was born.

Reviews

[Sheila Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Find the White Horse by the popular British author Dick King-Smith, illustrated with pen and ink sketches by Larry Wilkes, is reminiscent of The Incredible Journey. All of the animals in King-Smith’s story – Squintum, a neglected Siamese cat; Lubber, an old dog saved by the cat from being euthanized; Katie, a homing pigeon; and Colleen, a purebred setter who was left tied and abandoned – are unashamedly anthropomorphized, yet retain many animal traits. For example, Squintum gobbles down a litter of baby mice and thinks of Katie, the pigeon, in terms of a meal until she proves useful as a high-flying scout. Why do they need to find the White Horse? Lubber’s owners live in a small village with a view of an oversized landmark, a gigantic horse carved into the white chalk on a huge grassy hill. The lively dialog and action-packed plot will entertain independent readers in third through fifth grades as they absorb the underlying plea for the humane treatment of animals

[LobsterQuadrille · Rating 3 out of 5]

Find the White Horse is yet another of Dick King-Smith's sweet animal stories. The story follows a Siamese cat who tries to help a lost dog find his way back home, armed only with the knowledge that the dog lives in a village with a big white horse picture on a hill. They pick up a couple of friends along the way, and although this story is quite a bit darker than Babe, the Gallant Pig and Pigs Might Fly, it still has a happy ending and sweet but eccentric characters.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a big fan of King-Smith's work as a Year 6 child, and I remember this book fondly. It's a great read for animal lovers. Squintum the cat must help Lubber the dog find his way home, but the only clue they have is that his house is near the silhouette of a white horse. Stranded miles away from home, how will Lubber get back? With the help of friends they meet along the way, King-Smith wrote a story that helps cultivate empathy.

[Zoe Spence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book by Dick King-Smith and another great auto tape read by Nigel Lambert again gets you right into the characters and is an excellent reader I love all Dick King-Smith stories he makes such great characters and fun books to read.

[diary.of.a.hobbit · Rating 5 out of 5]

A childhood favourite that is criminally under-rated. If you like heart-warming stories with animal protagonists that still manage to touch upon some deep themes while remaining light-hearted, give this book a chance!

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

We listened to this on a road trip last weekend - holding story for all ages (adults, kids 14, 11 and 6 years), the voices brought the characters to life, plenty of humour and a nice feel-good story.

[Ginger Beer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, totally believable characters - swept up in the journey...

[Bec · Rating 5 out of 5]

I utterly adored this one. It's heart stopping, warm, sympathetic to the plight of animals, I can't say enough good things about it.

[Sophie Sutherland · Rating 4 out of 5]

faintly remembered always listening to this on car journeys as a child and needed a dose of nostalgia - DKS didn’t disappoint

[Belinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.4
For a lower to mid-grade level novel it is quite good, mixing a little bit of hi-jinx with some "new" vocabulary for the kids. There is a very wide range of stuff going on that can be discussed with the child reader, which is the best part of all.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun story. We always like Dick King-Smith. A little surprised at the word used to identify the female dog.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute, charming story for elementary-aged kids who love animal characters.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book as a child, and I've been to where the white horse is.

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 3 out of 5]

147 - 2017