Finding Black Beauty

by Lou Kuenzler

Told from the point of view of a young girl who masquerades as a boy in order to become a groom, this is the other side of the classic horse story BLACK BEAUTY. Aspiring groom Jo comes to love Beauty and when they are separated she travels to London to find him - on the way solving the mystery of her long-lost mother. A sweeping tale of a young girl and her love for a horse, and the circumstances that divide them.

Genres: Childrens

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

Hello and welcome to my Goodreads page. Now you have found me here, you can find information on all my published books and hear about work in progress too.

I write for children from picture books through to middle grade historical fiction.

I am also very proud to teach others how to write for children and work with many now-published authors.

For more information, check out my website:

Reviews

[Kerri · Rating 3 out of 5]

A retelling of 'Black Beauty', from the perspective of Joe Green. In Anna Sewell's classic, Joe is the young boy who almost kills Beauty with his foolishness. In Lou Kuenzler's take, Joe is Josie, a young girl who disguises herself as a boy so she can flee her home and work with horses.

Sequels or retellings of much loved stories are something I approach with a bit of trepidation. Sometimes the essence of what made the original special gets lost, and the results are often mediocre at best. 'Finding Black Beauty' manages to retain the spirit of 'Black Beauty' while still offering enough new content that it feels worthwhile.
As ever I found Ginger heartbreaking, and the end of the story did make me cry a little. I don't think this book has the same magic to it that the original does, but it certainly has moments when it comes close.

[E-Lynn Kok · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this retelling of the classic Black Beauty. This was a middle-grade read so I finished it within two to three hours. It was really sweet and loveable. I love horses so to be able to read this retelling felt like revisiting the original version of the book, except this is the extended family version with new friends.

[Freydis Eiriksdottir · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing. At the beginning, it is sad, but it is really good for horse lovers!

[Skye · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars ⭐️

“He’s all that matters to me now. He’s the nearest thing to family that I have.”

Large font in books actually saves lives. We should be publishing books with larger text more often please and not just in middle grade books like this one. All books should have text that it actually readable no matter when or where or what you’re reading.

“My new life - Joe Green’s new life - was about to begin.”

I get that this whole book was the journey along the way and don’t get me wrong I loved the characters and journeys of James, Beauty and Ginger, but the fact that Josie just ended up where she had the option to go to fifty pages in was slightly annoying.

“It would break my heart if ever I couldn’t be around horses.”

This was really good fun for a short and quick middle grade book and I would definitely recommend it to people within that age range. For me, this book was short and quick and fun and that’s what I wanted from it so it was good.

[Megan Gentile · Rating 5 out of 5]

One amazing book. Annoying that I have finished it!

[Novelle Novels · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this. Such an amazing retelling of black beauty

[Whale Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

Base on black beauty

เล่าเรื่องในมุมมองของเด็กหญิงคนหนึ่งซึ่งหลงรักม้ามาก

I felt my chest fill with air and realized I'd been half holding mt breath ever since I'd left him.
*ความรักต่อม้า

การรักม้าเป็นบ้าเป็นหลังแบบนี้คืออะไรกัน
สูญเสียครอบครัว เลยยึดม้าเป็นครอบครัวเพียงหนึ่งเดียว

จบ 80% แล้วเรื่องยังไม่แฮปปี้ เอนดิ้ง
ถือว่าดี
ไม่งั้นก้จะดูง่ายไปหน่อย

จบดีมากก
ความพยายามอย่างยิ่งยวด >> ไม่สำเร็จ
ก่อนจะสำเร็จเพราะโชคชะตาๅ

A horse and a girl, the very best of old friends!

อ่านแล้วอยากขี่ม้าเลย

ปัจฉิมบทของผู้แต่ง กล่าวถึงความผูกพันกับเรื่อง black beauty ของผู้แต่ง
เธออ่านบ่อยและนึกสงสัยในตัวละคร ตัวหนึ่งที่โผล่มาในช่วงแรกเพียงสั้น ๆ ก่อนจะโพล่มาอีกทีตอนท้าย
และจินตนาการเรื่องเหล่านั้นขึ้นต่อจนเป็นนิยายเล่มยาว

ทำได้ดี !
ถึงแม้จะยังไม่ได้อ่าน black beauty ก็เถอะ
(คาดว่าน่าจะเป็นมุมมองของม้า !)

[Year 6 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amelia: I loved how the book had mixed emotions and showed the friendship between animals and people. I recommend this book to 9-10+ because it is better to understand it.

[Lucy Bayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok. It wasn’t the longest book in the world but it felt like it. The last 2 parts felt rushed and not needed. The whole lead up in the last 150 so pages was trying to find black beauty and then they just find her in the last 5 pages.

The second parts was the only good part of the whole book and it did not need to be as long as it was.

But I don’t get why the author had to add the last part or the 5th part for that mater. Finding her Mother and all but I just didn’t get the reason for it all.

James was the only decent character because he wasn’t a stuck up brat like Josie was. But how, how did he not know that she was a girl. Like did he never look at her.

But it is beyond me why Josie would want to leave her home and become a stable boy. Like yes your Mother and your Aunt aren’t nice but that lady would have looked after you and still let you ride horse.

So I didn’t like this book and I will never read it again.

[Roan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find this book to be a great extension of Black Beauty's story! I myself never noticed Joe's two different appearances, but I like what this book did with his character. Joe Green is a lovely, spirited character and his feelings felt very real in his struggle to fit in along with his desperate search for Beauty later on. It's also interesting to view Joe as a trans character, but it's definitely down to preference for readers. I like that Josephine could barely keep quiet and compliant, she always spoke out against injustice. James was endearing too and I love the happy ending for (almost) everyone. This book isn't super thrilling but it's a cute way to revisit Black Beauty.

[Amber house · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had this book since I was a kid only started to read in the summer 2022, I love the merge between modern society mixed with 19th century expectations upon the ideas of women working in a heavily men industry. The tropes within it was nicely layed out id like to see some povs of some of the characters. I love the description on the scenery and it’s all a easy read and beautiful storyline. Love it 🫶

[Snakestar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really good. I loved it a lot but there definitely are some faults to it though. It is about a girl who her father died while hunting and her mother left when she was a baby. When her father died her awful aunt and cousin come and take over. So she runs away and tries to be a stable lad…

[Carl Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

This book is a brilliant read I have just recently read black beauty and this is a great follow on book.

[Noya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing but really really sad!!! 😭😭😭

[Bunga ✿ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The retelling is amazing and I do enjoy reading it. It just don't have the same magic as Black Beauty, although I understand why. Still love it though. And the beautiful cover is a plus here

[Miriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Izzy Triggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING BOOK PLEASE ALL READ

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Readable, quite an inventive retelling of the old story. Appalling publishing, though, with typos littered throughout the book.

[Laura Lowney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely the best book I ever read

[Kirby · Rating 2 out of 5]

I happened to stumble upon this one for a really great price when a bookstore I visited was going out of business. I'd never heard of it before, but as someone who is a huge fan of the original classic, I wanted to go ahead and give it a try. I want to preface my review by stating that I appreciated how the reader can easily feel the author's love for the original story as they go through this one, and that it was a wonderful idea for a story to look at the process that went on in the meantime before Joe and Beauty were reunited at the end of the classic novel.

However, this one ended up not being what I was expecting, and I had quite a hard time wanting to work my way through it. The story felt largely implausible, and didn't really make sense to me why Josie wanted to be a stable groom in the first place. A lot of the passages seemed to glam over a lot of the inconsistencies that would have made her plan practically impossible, and you definitely have to turn a blind eye to this fact to finish this title.

It also felt like a lot of the chapters weren't necessary, and were just filler to try and make the book longer than it needed to be. The middle part was particularly trying, and took me quite awhile to finish.

Josie was not a character that was easy to like, and I didn't think she showed much compassion to anyone else around her throughout the course of the story. While I get that she was a twelve year old girl going through hard times, she never really seemed to learn her lesson despite the circumstances.

Overall, I applaud the author for wanting to retell this beloved children's tale, but unfortunately this one ended up being a pass for me personally. If you or your children love horse stories, this may be one you want to give a try. If you're coming at it like I did as a fan of the original story, then just be forewarned you may have to suspend belief to make this one work for you.

Final Rating: 2.5/5

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never read the original Black Beauty by Anna Sewell that didn't stop me from enjoying Finding Black Beauty.

Although a book aimed at children, this story was an emotional, eye-opening read. Amongst other topics, it explored the idea that family can be made up of people you choose and that blood family cannot always be relied upon to have your best interests at heart.

I read this after my 11 year old son and I love that it gave us something to discuss. I also liked seeing him engrossed in the story and eager to read at every opportunity.

I can't finish without mentioning the cover and how beautiful it is. This is truly a book that deserves space on anyone's bookshelf. And not only for the cover!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was amazing!!!! Always wanted to read the black beauty book, but this is definitely a great re-write for younger readers. I cried, laughed and just couldn't put this book down. I know the bond between a horse and person, so can relate

[Valerie Springham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book any fan of Black Beauty by Anna Sewell it's a must

[Beatrice Gorman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book I have ever read! And I have read lots!