Horsefly

by Alice Hoffman, Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher (Illustrator)

Jewel is terrified of everything -- especially the horses on her ranch. But when her grandfather puts the fate of a scrawny newborn foal in her hands, she has no choice but to care for the sad little thing, whom she names Bug. As the two grow fond of each other, Jewel discovers an extraordinary secret about Bug -- he can fly! Unfortunately, someone else has discovered the foal's secret, too. Can Jewel overcome her fears in order to save her best friend?

Genres: Picture Books, Fiction, Childrens, Magical Realism

48 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 2000

About the author

Alice Hoffman is the author of more than thirty works of fiction, including The World That We Knew; The Marriage of Opposites; The Red Garden; The Museum of Extraordinary Things; The Dovekeepers; Here on Earth, an Oprah’s Book Club selection; and the Practical Magic series, including Practical
Magic; Magic Lessons; The Rules of Magic, a selection of Reese’s Book Club; and The Book of Magic. She lives near Boston.

Reviews

[Danielle R · Rating 5 out of 5]

How did I only just now realize this was written by Alice Hoffman?! It's such a favorite childhood book of mine that I literally still have it on my shelf (for the children I don't have)! Magnificent little story, especially for little girls that like horses and magic. 5/5

[Alice · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75 Stars This book was really nice until about half way through. A girl who is afraid of everything bonds with a scrawny, sad little horse (where have I heard that before?). The Horse follows her like the a puppy. One day it followed her to school and one of the boys taunts her and her horse so they race over the prairie. (From this point I am still good with this story) Then they race and then come to a cliff and the Horse goes over the side.....but instead of plummeting to it's death, it spreads its wings and flies.... and then the rest of the story is about the horse that flies and a circus ringmaster discovers the flying horse and steals him but the girl 'steals' him back.

So the reason I gave it close to a 3 is that the picture are beautiful. I could give it a 3, because my head is thinking "She is using her imagination--flying on the back of this horse" but I am not much for fantasy...it either has to be all fantasy or nothing. I don't like the idea of a normal ranch setting and then the horse flies. If we are in a magical land or place, flying horses, no problem... Yep I am a realistic fiction girl.....sorry that I am not fun!

[Jenna's Mom · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was too old for Jenna; I ended up paraphrasing it and it was still a little too long for her. I do think she loved the illustrations and the subject of horses. It started out as a story about a girl who is afraid of horses until her grandpa puts her in charge of feeding and caring for a foal whose mother rejected it because of its small size. The book then takes something of a sci-fi turn, with the horse growing wings and flying the girl around town. I’m not crazy about that kind of stuff myself, but…I might try the book again with Jenna when she’s older.

[RobesonBoys · Rating 5 out of 5]

Max 5 stars
Tanner 4 stars

Mom's of girls go get this one. My boys liked it and I imagine that girls would really connect to this one. A sweet story about overcoming fears and the way that children can be nudged towards a depth of experience and understanding that may even surpass what you originally hoped for them. The little girl, Jewel, learns to fly above the sea of grass, not just float across it. The message is subtle here and I like it! Bravo Alice Hoffman.

[elissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure why I never added this one to my books. I guess when I first joined GR, I got tired of adding Hoffman titles at some point! :) I definitely made an effort to get Hoffman's picture books to read when my kids were little. I can't specifically remember sharing this one with them, but I probably did.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was a 4 stars and could've been a novel based on the characters- maybe there is a sequel of more than story book length? I was left wanting more. However for such a magical subject matter, I felt the fuzzy illustrations let the book down so it only got 3 stars from me.

[Powers Family · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story of a young girl who overcomes her fear.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

the best children's book I have ever had the pleasure of reading to my daughter.