Blaze Finds the Trail

Billy & Blaze #4

by C.W. Anderson

Billy and Blaze Are Lost
Billy and his pony Blaze love to explore the forest. So one day they set out on an old woodland road that is new to them. They have a wonderful ride, but their adventures soon lead them off the trail and deep into the woods. Before they know it, the sky grows dark with a coming storm, and Billy can't find the way out of the woods. Can Blaze find the trail and get them safely home again?
Blaze Finds the Trail is part of the classic Billy and Blaze series. Sensitive drawings and easy-to-read words capture the warmth and special understanding between a boy and his horse.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Horses, Fiction, Juvenile, Adventure

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1950

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

C.W. Anderson - aka Clarence William Anderson
From Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence...

Clarence William Anderson (1891–1971) was an author and illustrator of children's books. Known professionally as C.W. Anderson, Anderson had an interest in horses and drawing.

Anderson started his career by illustrating for other authors, but eventually began developing texts to accompany his realistic and lively black and white drawings. He is best known for his "Billy and Blaze" book series.

The adventures of Billy and Blaze would revolve around proper care of the horse, while teaching a lesson. Anderson would go to great lengths to give accurate information. He would even go on to write Heads Up, Heels Down as a training tool for young horse lovers. All of the stories Anderson wrote would be based on true stories or people that Anderson knew, only the plots were fiction.

By the end of Anderson's life, he had written and illustrated over thirty-five horse books, and also had created covers for the Saturday Evening Post.

Reviews

[booklady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the Billy & Blaze books I have read so far, this is my personal favorite because it has tells a good story of the relationship between the horse and the boy. The two are out for a walk, get lost and the four-footed animal helps his rider find the way home. Excellent!

[Saleh MoonWalker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Onvan : Blaze Finds the Trail - Nevisande : C.W. Anderson - ISBN : 0689835205 - ISBN13 : 9780689835209 - Dar 32 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 1950

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ellie received all of these books for Christmas 2015. They are all wonderful. Good for beginning readers and the illustrations are beautiful!..krb 12/30/16

[Khari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly the art makes this book. The art is phenomenal. It is realistic, sensitive, delicate, and just plain gorgeous.

The story is a bit mundane. A boy and his pony go on an adventure and get lost. A storm comes up and the pony guides the boy home. I found myself wondering more about where this story is set: it's got to be the USA because it talks about settlers and wagons. So it must be the US. But it's also talking about hurricanes...was there ever an expansion by wagons into hurricane territory? Ah. I suppose it could be Louisiana...or Texas. But then the saddle that the little boy is riding is English....Somehow I can't imagine very much English riding in Texas...I've got a very deep indwelling conviction that everyone in Texas rides Western...I'm probably just depending on stereotypes though. I've never actually ridden in Texas, or known anyone who does, so I'm operating on my own perceptions which are entirely too colored by television shows and Louis L'Amour books.

Anyway. Good book.

Story: Narrative, slightly mundane
Art: Phenomenal
Price: 6.99 <==this is what I am talking about, an actually decent price. Amazing.

[Stephanie Sheaffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent "longer-than-a-reader, but shorter-than-a-chapter-book" title for young readers. Perfect story for grades K-4! Even older kids will enjoy this simple tale of a boy and his horse, racing to get home before a storm. Parents will sigh with delight at this portrayal of a simpler time when children rode horses in forests unaccompanied, enjoying the wonders of nature. Lovely black-and-white vintage illustrations on every page.

* This is book #4 in the "Billy and Blaze" series.
* This series reminds me of the "Flicka Ricka Dicka" series - also delightful!

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughters curriculum said to read "Billy and Blaze" first, then read the other books in any order.I read the first and chose this second. I didn't look up the order they were written, but from storyline and pictures of Billy on the cover, I came up with the order I will have her read them. This story has Billy and Blaze lost and trying to get home before a bad storm.

[sincerely · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️+❤
The illustrations are a tiny different in this one, text is the same as the second. Lovely books. My kids are absolutely obsessed. Would recommend and buy for others. The boxed set on Amazon is very affordable and worth every penny!

[Nicole Fanning · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Billy and Blaze series is great for little kids who love adventure and nature. When we finished the series, my seven year old said “We are DEFINITELY reading those again.” They are treasures that you won’t find on any of the modern children’s book lists.

[Katie Winkler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the stories and the illustrations when I was a horse-crazy kid

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another in the series that I remember having and reading as a child.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good wholesome story. The drawings are incredible throughout the book.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My horse lovin' lil' ones think the world of these books with excellent illustrations and solid story lines. We love Billy & Blaze books. CW Anderson's illustrations grew into amazing pieces of art over time (compare Billy & Blaze, the original book to his later efforts) that accurately depict horses at their finest.

[Candace · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of my favorite books from my childhood.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great children's book for horse lovers.

[Don Gubler · Rating 4 out of 5]

My earliest and favorite and I still have the original.

[Hazel Gifford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Billy and Blaze's adventures are an all time favorite for all my boys.

[Jessica Bukowinski · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you have read one Blaze book you have read them all, but my daughter likes them and I agree that they are nice.

[Verona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these books. I enjoyed them as a kid and now i share them with my own children. simple story, beautiful illustrations of horses. Horse crazy kids will love these.

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story with Billy and Blaze.

[Anna]

Book 4 in the series

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stunning illustrations accompany a simply told story.

[meow · Rating 4 out of 5]

cool

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book with my kids tonight. Copyright 1950. Loved everything about it, especially the beautiful illustrations.

[Elanor]

Independent

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not to be confused with Blaze Shows the Way (1969), Blaze Finds Forgotten Roads (1970) or the similarly-covered Blaze and the Forest Fire (1938), this time around Billy and Blaze are in amazing world of 1950 when there used to be woods to get lost in and no one called child services if you let your kid ride without a hard hat. Here (as in several of the other books in the series) Blaze proves that he is the best pony in the world.

Okay, so there's not a whole heck of a lot of plot here but the story is simple and kind of comforting. But the real reason I love the Billy and Blaze books is the art. I ADORE C. W. Anderson's work and here he achieves a universe I wish I lived in. I used to own copies of most of the series and stupidly lost them somehow in the last 20 - 30 years.



The cover was never done in color by Anderson but was done later in the Aladdin reprint (which are the only editions I can afford.)