Dash

Breyer Stablemates

by J. Elizabeth Mills

This new book in the bestselling Stablemates series has an American Quarter Horse!

When Jenny discovers barrel racing, she cannot wait to give it a try. Luckily, Jenny's dad has the perfect horse, Dash. Dash is very fast, but Jenny must learn to control him around all the tight turns in the barrel racing course. Even with help from her new friend, Hope, and her trainer, Sam, will Jenny and Dash be ready in time for the upcoming rodeo?

With fun facts about American Quarter Horses, this easy-to-read chapter book is perfect for any girl who loves horses!

Genres: Horses, Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction

48 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2009

About the author

I was a children's book editor at Scholastic for seven-and-a-half years before I moved to Seattle to work at Cranium Inc. Now I'm striking out on my own as a freelance editor and writer. I have worked in many bookstores, including Wild Rumpus in Minneapolis. Children's books are my passion!

Reviews

[Pasta Bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of this book was good. I enjoyed reading it. The information in it was all true, good information, it just seemed distorted and out of place sometimes.
As someone who dabbled in barrel racing (I was never much good at it, me and my horse buddy just had some fun in little local shows), TROT is an important part of learning to race. Going straight from walk to lope is difficult and frustrating for both rider and horse. It almost made me sad when Jenny had trouble going through the pattern at a lope, because I knew she had basically set herself and Dash up to fail.
It worked out though! Dash and Jenny are both interesting, lovable characters who represent the bond between horse and human quite well. I love seeing even fictional characters in books telling their horses “thank you” after a show. We can’t get anywhere in the horse world without our horses! I did enjoy this book quite a bit, especially since I grew up reading it.

[Linda Branich · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a Breyer STABLEMATES BOOK, perfect for little girls who love horses. It is hardcover, with glossy pages and illustrations that reinforce the story line. My only criticism is that the illustrations look stiff when in repose, but the action illustrations are amazing.

When Jenny is watching her brother compete at a rodeo, her Dad takes her to the barrel-racing arena. Jenny fell in love with barrel racing and met a competitor, Hope. Hope's trainer says he will teach Jenny about barrel racing, and Jenny's Dad picks out a suitable quarter horse for her, named DASH. They practice diligently for their first competition, which turns out to be both a nailbiter and great surprise for Jenny.

I liked this book especially because, though it is a medium length story, the print is a little bit larger and easy to read. The reading level throughout the book is consistent and a nice challenge for independent readers. It teaches not just the lure of rodeo, but also the difficulty and great amount of training that goes into it, and the possibility that it is easy to make a mistake and lose. Even though Hope and Jenny will probably wind up competing against one another one day, friendship and promoting the sport rules over individual winning. There is no jealousy whatsoever. At the conclusion of the book is a page filled with quarter horse and barrel racing facts. There is a page like this at the end of every book in this series, so readers learn about several breeds by the time they finish the series. It is also written like a "grown up" book, with a table of contents and it is divided into chapters, making it a nice transition from simple picture books and early readers to chapter books.

I loved it! Best of all---$4.99 for hardcover book from Scholastic, purchased at Books A Million, my home away from home.

[Eva-Marie Nevarez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think Julia picked this up last time we were in Philly and stopped at a bookstore. She's very into horses (what little girl isn't?) so we bought it and finally read it before bed last night.
It's actually a Level 3 Scholastic Reader so it was made to be read by the child. We have a bunch of Level 1, 2 and 3's that we read together although Julia is starting to pick up and read some by herself.
Dash is about a little girl wanting to learn to barrel race. I don't know about other places or people but barrel racing isn't big around where we live. Actually, it may not even be small. It may not even be for that matter, around here anyway.
When I saw this, as I started to read, I thought Julia may lose interest. She not only was very interested but wants me to find more of the Breyer Horses books. (There are cover pics of about 6 or 7 in the back of the book.) Julia only asks me to find books we're really into so I know she definitely liked this.
It's a simple story, the girl wants to barrel race after seeing another girl, Daddy gives her one of his horses, she trains for a short while, makes a mistake or two (not in a race, mistake during practice) and then wins the race.

[Romie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first time I read it, it was the greatest part--Dash started to win the race! Once I figured out that Jenny was going to be in first place, I jumped up. I love Hope, she got trained by a girl named Sam. I like Duke too. Jenny got trained by Sam too.
little e, age 6

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent chapter book and a fun read about barrel racing. My little one especially enjoyed it, because it included illustrations.

[Holly Letson · Rating 3 out of 5]

With practice comes perfection, and this shows through well for Dash and their trainer, who become barrel racers after much practice.

[Thatgirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book when I was 8, after reading another short book ( Stormy ) and it was good just like stormy was.

[Hillvan]

410L