The Horse Gentler

I spent about half an hour last night starting and finishing this sweet horse book by an author I love, Dandi Daley Mackall. 

While I wouldn't say it's a new favorite beginning children's novel, I liked it well enough. 

There were only two real "dislikes" for me, which were minor- one character's "bratty" behavior was never addressed/fixed (which is realistic, of course) and the child-narrator was very repetitive in her use of  the phrase "note to self: ____."

Outside of those very minor things, there was quite a lot to like. Obvious spiritual undertones, positive portrayal of family/family relationships, generally kind attitudes, character self-correcting her own flaws, hard work portrayed positively, and quite a bit of education on horses. 

I was never really gaga for horses when I was a child but I do think I would have enjoyed this book anyways. For girls who already love horses, I imagine this one will be quite a home run. 

The main character is eight years old and although there quite a few horse-related technical terms the average eight-year-old wouldn't know, there's a glossary in the back and the rest of the book reads at right about that level in my humble opinion.

*I received a free copy of this book from Tyndale in exchange for my honest review.