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Vicki and the Black Horse
Vicki restores a half-starved pony to health and it becomes the inseparable pal of Pat, a thoroughbred
140 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1975
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 4, 2025
This book was so heartwarming. It's a story about perseverance with a great, happy ending. I loved it. Perfect to read during the wintertime, and if you love horses, ponies, or animals in general!
November 27, 2011
This is a cute book to get for girls who love horses and ponies. I read this book originally when I was about 8 years old because. . well my name is Vicki and I love horses (black ones in particular). I reread it now that I'm 28. The black horse isn't always the main focus in this story. It is mainly about how Vicki loves the horse so much that she tries to do what she can to make him happy (his name is Pat). Vicki does end up owning a pony named Jesse in which Pat gets attached to. We see the adventures of the Jordan family (Vicki's family) and what they do regarding their love for riding and such. It's a sweet story and is 140 pages with some pictures included.
November 6, 2020
It's a lot better than I expected. I really underrated this book.
Cover
The title really is part of the reason I over looked the story. You really don’t know what you are getting with this title. I have to say I was a bit concerned
when I realized this cover is quite literally the first chapter theme which at first felt a little concerned.
Interior
Story
I have a feeling the entire story was built on the first chapter. The first chapter probably has the most intense dramatic scene in the whole book. With that being said the book changes into a slow intellectual drama. Focusing on making an emotional climax rather than huge dramatic climax. This is actually where I can see readers getting a little lost with the flip in style. Some of the terminology in the story is lost to me as not being familiar with horses. Especially with how many times Hunting pops up in a story without hunting.
One of the best things is that there isn’t any of that painful brother sister drama that drags throughout the book. The story keeps the respect, and maturity and they support each other with is nice thing to see.
The ending is really nice and brought a smile to my face. It may not be a super happy fun book but it's a great book to read.
Illustration
The art is beautifully done in charcoal. It knows what details to ignore giving it a very unique style. I would say only one picture in the book was hard to tell what was really happening but I think half of that is the fold’s fault. A couple times I think some of the pictures could have used a touch more detail or more complete lines.
(One note to make)
I also have to give this book credit they go to a lot of fairs. There are three fairs and an auction in the book. That’s a lot more than I go to in a year.
Cover
The title really is part of the reason I over looked the story. You really don’t know what you are getting with this title. I have to say I was a bit concerned
when I realized this cover is quite literally the first chapter theme which at first felt a little concerned.
Interior
Story
I have a feeling the entire story was built on the first chapter. The first chapter probably has the most intense dramatic scene in the whole book. With that being said the book changes into a slow intellectual drama. Focusing on making an emotional climax rather than huge dramatic climax. This is actually where I can see readers getting a little lost with the flip in style. Some of the terminology in the story is lost to me as not being familiar with horses. Especially with how many times Hunting pops up in a story without hunting.
One of the best things is that there isn’t any of that painful brother sister drama that drags throughout the book. The story keeps the respect, and maturity and they support each other with is nice thing to see.
The ending is really nice and brought a smile to my face. It may not be a super happy fun book but it's a great book to read.
Illustration
The art is beautifully done in charcoal. It knows what details to ignore giving it a very unique style. I would say only one picture in the book was hard to tell what was really happening but I think half of that is the fold’s fault. A couple times I think some of the pictures could have used a touch more detail or more complete lines.
(One note to make)
I also have to give this book credit they go to a lot of fairs. There are three fairs and an auction in the book. That’s a lot more than I go to in a year.
October 25, 2017
I had fun with this story, but it wasn't amazing. Vicki's father buys a black mare that Vicki absolutely loves, but her father firmly believes in one rider for each horse. The mare is his mount, even though the mare and Vicki love each other. The story is essentially about how the father changes his mind. (Original, I know)
April 16, 2022
A heartwarming story about a thirteen-year-old girl, a horse, and a pony. I liked the drawing illustrations too.
April 26, 2022
This book is a good book, for me it felt predictable and I have read other books by Savitt. I would recommend it for anyone that wants a quick read day on the beach or by a pool.
February 22, 2021
This was one of my absolute favourite books growing up! I have very fond memories of reading it during my tween years. I realized during this read-through though that I had either incorrectly remembered pretty much everything that had occurred within it (plot-wise) or had simply just completely forgotten entire plot points/chapters! It was still a nice re-read for me though.
Thoughts:
1. Vicki is a lovely character. She reminds me a lot of a younger version of myself actually - horse obsessed, a bit shy, often seeking approval from both her friends and family, sweet, kind, but mostly just a lover of animals and the world in general. She's a realistic character, really, and is someone to be admired by most tweens, I think.
2. The entire Jordan family has a nice dynamic, in fact. I enjoyed the few scenes Vicki had with her older brother, Wayne, in particular. They seem to have a typical sibling relationship, but a good one, overall. Vicki's interactions with her dad were the most hit-or-miss for me though. At the beginning of the book, Dan comes off a bit strict and serious, being the stereotypical father of the time; always expecting his children to do as they are told and not allowing Vicki to ride Pat (even though she desperately wants to). There are also a couple of troubling scenes at a horse show near the middle of the book that had me scratching my head, as Dan acted rather bizarrely or unexpectedly in them. He definitely redeemed himself by the end of the story though, which made me appreciate him as a character, overall.
3. The writing in this short novel is quite good, almost surprisingly so. It reads quite similarly to how a book that was published today would. It definitely holds up well, in my opinion. I enjoyed seeing things mostly from Vicki's perspective, even though it's written in third person. We often got to experience some of her thoughts too, which I always enjoy. The illustrations throughout (and them also having been drawn by Sam, the author) were a nice surprise as well.
4. I loved the overall plot and story arc in this book. It appears, at first, as though it's going to be a fairly straightforward story (with a bit of drama thrown in to keep things interesting), but everything becomes quite difficult and almost ridiculously complicated for Vicki and her family a few chapters in. The book does suffer a bit from each chapter mostly standing on its own, as the pacing ends up feeling a bit all over the place because of this. One chapter may span a few hours (or less), but the next may cover a number of days or even weeks. For me, it was just a bit too choppy, especially near the end. I actually wish the author had spread things out a bit more in places and added another 30-50 pages. That may be where the book's age catches up to it, I suppose.
5. The ending of this lovely novel was an extremely satisfying one. It was quite predictable, at least in its final endpoint, but I'm still, obviously, pleased that the story was wrapped up in the way that it was. Everyone (both animals and people) ended up happy and there was even some unexpected character development, which was nice to see.
2020 Reading Project: [Book 2 of 55]
I've been a horse lover for most of my life and I've obtained quite a few books related to them over the years. Both my mom and her sister (my aunt) love horses as well and they slowly gifted me all of their old novels over several Christmases and birthdays throughout my tween/teen years. This year, I've decided to set myself a project of reading all of those old books again, now that I'm an adult, along with the few that I've bought myself over the years. There are over 50 of them, so it's going to take a while, but most of them are under 200 pages and meant for young readers, so they should be pretty easy to get through. I'm curious to see what I'll think of them, now that I'm 10+ years older.
Thoughts:
1. Vicki is a lovely character. She reminds me a lot of a younger version of myself actually - horse obsessed, a bit shy, often seeking approval from both her friends and family, sweet, kind, but mostly just a lover of animals and the world in general. She's a realistic character, really, and is someone to be admired by most tweens, I think.
2. The entire Jordan family has a nice dynamic, in fact. I enjoyed the few scenes Vicki had with her older brother, Wayne, in particular. They seem to have a typical sibling relationship, but a good one, overall. Vicki's interactions with her dad were the most hit-or-miss for me though. At the beginning of the book, Dan comes off a bit strict and serious, being the stereotypical father of the time; always expecting his children to do as they are told and not allowing Vicki to ride Pat (even though she desperately wants to). There are also a couple of troubling scenes at a horse show near the middle of the book that had me scratching my head, as Dan acted rather bizarrely or unexpectedly in them. He definitely redeemed himself by the end of the story though, which made me appreciate him as a character, overall.
3. The writing in this short novel is quite good, almost surprisingly so. It reads quite similarly to how a book that was published today would. It definitely holds up well, in my opinion. I enjoyed seeing things mostly from Vicki's perspective, even though it's written in third person. We often got to experience some of her thoughts too, which I always enjoy. The illustrations throughout (and them also having been drawn by Sam, the author) were a nice surprise as well.
4. I loved the overall plot and story arc in this book. It appears, at first, as though it's going to be a fairly straightforward story (with a bit of drama thrown in to keep things interesting), but everything becomes quite difficult and almost ridiculously complicated for Vicki and her family a few chapters in. The book does suffer a bit from each chapter mostly standing on its own, as the pacing ends up feeling a bit all over the place because of this. One chapter may span a few hours (or less), but the next may cover a number of days or even weeks. For me, it was just a bit too choppy, especially near the end. I actually wish the author had spread things out a bit more in places and added another 30-50 pages. That may be where the book's age catches up to it, I suppose.
5. The ending of this lovely novel was an extremely satisfying one. It was quite predictable, at least in its final endpoint, but I'm still, obviously, pleased that the story was wrapped up in the way that it was. Everyone (both animals and people) ended up happy and there was even some unexpected character development, which was nice to see.
2020 Reading Project: [Book 2 of 55]
I've been a horse lover for most of my life and I've obtained quite a few books related to them over the years. Both my mom and her sister (my aunt) love horses as well and they slowly gifted me all of their old novels over several Christmases and birthdays throughout my tween/teen years. This year, I've decided to set myself a project of reading all of those old books again, now that I'm an adult, along with the few that I've bought myself over the years. There are over 50 of them, so it's going to take a while, but most of them are under 200 pages and meant for young readers, so they should be pretty easy to get through. I'm curious to see what I'll think of them, now that I'm 10+ years older.
November 10, 2016
Vicki and The Black Horse is the touching tale of the love one girl has for horses, particularly the black horse that she helped her dad nurse back to health. Knowing that the black horse belongs to her dad, Vicki sets out in search of a pony. She finds one, a rescue, much too small to become her riding buddy but with a big heart. Vicki chooses her true love of horses over her desire to ride and love her very own pony or horse, and the diligence she puts into these horses puts everyone else to shame. We're rooting for things to work out for Vicki in the end, for never did you see a girl work so hard to make others happy.
January 2, 2014
childhood favorite..still just as good
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews