TITLE:  Shadow, the Curious Morgan Horse

AUTHOR: Ellen F. Feld

ILLUSTRATOR: Jeanne Mellin

Publisher: Willow Bend Publishing

Price: 15.95. or at Amazon.com.

Shadow, the Curious Morgan Horse is a sweet story about a little horse who learns all about the world around her.  She goes through a broken fence and gets lost.  She finds a friend who helps her get back to her mother in the pasture.  She had a lot of fun exploring but was so happy to be close to her mother again.  The world can be a scary place, but when we explore within boundaries and with someone who has been there it is a little nicer.

At first I found the story a little daunting for a children’s book.  Lots of words, not so many pictures.  I’m so glad I got over that and read the story.  It is very sweet.  The pictures are well drawn and very beautiful.  Some I would like to frame for my eldest daughter’s bedroom wall.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

When I received a couple of books by Ellen F. Feld, I was excited to see that they would be perfect for my horse loving daughter and her horse loving friend. I gave Rimfire: The Barrel Racing Morgan Horse to V.G. to read and to tell me how much she loved it, or didn't. As it turns out, V.G. (age 10) really enjoyed the book. Here's what she had to say:

I really enjoyed the book. Very interesting, however, because I have a horse when I read about horses it’s not the same as having and doing things with my horse. I would rather spend time with my horse than spend time reading about a horse. This might be different if I wanted to learn a specific skill. In that case I would choose a non-fiction book over a novel.

I liked that it talked about barrel racing. I learned that you have to tuck your shirt in and not to wear a belt because it hooks on the horn. I also learned that a barrel racer should not go really close to the barrel but be about a tire width away from the barrel.

The characters were good. They were well described. There were enough of them, but I did wish the author would have talked more about the parents and had the parents more involved.

The pictures were interesting but more pictures would be cool.

I would read the other books in the series. The one titled Robin: The Lovable Morgan Horse looks good.

Thanks, V.G. for your great review of Rimfire !

The other book I received and gave to my daughter for Christmas is called Shadow: The Curious Morgan Horse. I will be reviewing that title with my daughter in the next few days.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of these books in exchange for my honest review.