I own the racecourse!

by Patricia Wrightson

A mentally retarded boy thinks he has bought a race track for three dollars, and until a solution to the problem can be found, only the patience and understanding of his friends keep him from being hurt by the truth.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Young Adult, Australia

159 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Winner of the Dromkeen Medal (1984).
Patricia Wrightson is one of Australia's most distinguished writers for children. Her books have won many prestigious awards all over the world. She was awarded an OBE (Officer of the British Empire) in 1977, the Dromkeen Medal in 1984 and the Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1986, all for her services to children's literature. She is a four-time winner of the Australian Children's Book Council Book of the Year Award: in 1956 for The Crooked Snake, in 1974 for The Nargun and the Stars, in 1978 for The Ice Is Coming and in 1984 for A Little Fear. Patricia lives and writes in a beautiful stretch of the Australian bush beside the Clarence River in northern New South Wales.

Reviews

[Myth Liberated · Rating 5 out of 5]

داستان با کندی و نامفهومی خاصی آغاز میشه ولی یواش یواش روال معقولی پیدا میکنه،داستان با شرایط و رویدادهای همراه است که خواننده نوجوان ایرانی ازش سر در نمی آره ولی کلاً داستانش رو درک میکنه

[P.D.R. Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always admired Patricia Wrightson's skills as a writer. She has a spare yet illuminating way with words and a way of showing how people feel without a great deal of 'telling the reader.' SHe uses those skills well in this novel.

I would like this book to be read in every school with a careful leader showing the children how being intellectually handicapped is not a dread disease or something to make fun of. Wrightson simply gives us the characters and shows us how people should and should not behave with those who are different. It's a lovely story and there are clear examples of how to and not to behave with someone whose brain works in very different ways.

No preaching or telling the reader what to do. Readers are shown the characters, the situation and left to think it through themselves. Do read this and read it with your children or grandchildren, or your students. It will make them think and understand.

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a talented author! This book is so different from The Nargun and the Stars, but just as skilfully written. I first read this book as an upper primary student, and coming back to it again many years later I couldn’t really remember what it was all about. I just knew that I had enjoyed it, and this remained true the second time around. The ending is so clever - I spent the last half of the book wondering how on Earth Wrightson could sensitively and appropriately draw it to a close, but she did this perfectly. A great read.

[Peter Wynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an autistic, I could relate to the character of Andy, a guy who doesn't fully understand a game his friends play where they pretend to own various landmarks. It also shows what real friendship is about. I would recommend this book to upper primary school students to read and to have their teachers and parents discuss it with them.

[Derelict Space Sheep · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nuanced middle-grade story set half a century ago in Sydney’s inner west. Andy, a mentally disabled boy, believes he has bought the local racecourse—and if people treat him like the owner, what real difference is there between fantasy and reality?

[Peter Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful treatment of disabilty.

[Cheryl]

openlibrary - A Racecourse for Andy

[Judy]

I read this so long ago that I only remember that I enjoyed it. So I can't give it a rating.