Great Books for Horse Lovers

Mardi Gras, Mayhem, and the Parade Marshals' Horses: Mardi Gras Horses, by Jerry Huff, via WKRG-TV

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa Wright) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 13:02:00 +0000

It's a sight worthy of a hundred histories, and a thousand novels: the costumed parade marshals and their decked-out horses riding through the streets of New Orleans during the mad carnival of Mardi Gras. In this interview, Jerry Huff of Mobile, Alabama's WKRG-TV interviews Lakewood Stables' Bill Adams, who explains how he prepares horses - and riders - for more than 20 parade groups. (But turn down your player's volume - this interview opens with a siren...)

Do you have a favorite horse novel that's set during Mardi Gras or in New Orleans? Suggest it here!

When Horse-Power Isn't Enough: Willpower - Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength, by Roy Baumeister and John Tierney

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa Wright) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:19:00 +0000

Do you want to get to the barn as often as you promised yourself - and your horse! - that you would, or exercise your gym membership card instead of letting it laze away as a coaster on your coffee table? If you wish you could keep your New Year's resolutions, or if you want to create any kind of positive, lasting change in your life, you don't need horse-power, you need Willpower.

In Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength, psychologist Roy Baumeister teams up with NYT science writer John Tierney to explain why it can be so difficult to change a single habit, let alone your entire life, and how you can harness your natural impulses so that blazing new trails in your decision-making is as easy and comfortable as ambling around your home arena on your favorite trusty steed.

Does it work? Well, since reading Willpower, Pegasus is snacking on carrots instead of carrot cake, and he has high hopes for how his saddle will fit during beach season. I'm off for an evening swim, and if there's any New Year's resolution that requires more willpower than going swimming in New Hampshire in February instead of curling up in my Horseware Ireland Newmarket throw with the delightfully horsey new ABC series Once Upon a Time, I am definitely glad that I don't know what it is! :)

Liberating History: On the Trail of the Ancestors - A Black Cowboy’s Ride Across America, by Lisa Winkler

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa Wright) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:30:00 +0000

On September 22nd, 2007, 57-year-old social studies teacher Miles Dean swung aboard his Arabian-Saddlebred stallion, Sankofa, and began The Modern African American Pioneer Expedition, a six-month, 5,000-mile ride from Manhattan to Los Angeles. Dean’s students, fifth and sixth graders at Chancellor Avenue Elementary School in Newark, New Jersey, along with thousands of other elementary through college students across the nation, followed his journey on the Web. They watched, listened, and interacted with him as he visited African American historical landmarks, interviewed experts, and discovered America as many pioneers had discovered it: from the back of a trusty horse.

“Most American schoolchildren are unaware of the role African Americans and their horses played in the exploration, expansion, and settlement of the United States,” says Dean. “Through the expedition, those students rode with me across America, learned about African American explorers, soldiers, pioneers, cowgirls and cowboys, and discovered that no matter what their circumstances they, like their ancestors, can be trailblazers, too.”

I was lucky enough to meet Miles Dean and Sankofa in 2008, when I photographed them for The Literary Horse: When Legends Come to Life exhibit. My first thought was “How amazing!” – and my next thought was, “This is a story that needs a book!”

Lisa K. Winkler felt the same way. Inspired by Dean’s uplifting mission and message, the author and educational consultant documented Dean’s extraordinary life and journey in On the Trail of the Ancestors: A Black Cowboy’s Ride Across America, just released through Amazon. (…and illustrated with a few photos by a very proud yours truly! :) )

About On the Trail of the Ancestors, Molefi Kete Asante, author of 100 Greatest African Americans, said, “Lisa Winkler has written an inspiring book; she has engaged us at the level of concrete contributions of African Americans to the history of the United States. Miles Dean’s own participation in that history is inescapably awesome. I salute this work and encourage everyone to read this powerful book.”

Please welcome Lisa K. Winkler.

Growing up black in Brooklyn, Miles Dean wanted to be a cowboy. He galloped through the streets on his bicycle, ambushed outlaws on street corners, and imitated the heroes he watched in television westerns. Not until he turned 23 and saw a black actor portray a cowboy in a movie did Dean realize he too could become one. More than three decades later, he rode Sankofa, his 12-year-old Arabian-Saddlebred stallion, from the African Burial Grounds in lower Manhattan to the California African American Museum in Los Angeles.

Dean, a schoolteacher from Newark, New Jersey, used an unpaid leave of absence to follow his childhood dream: to conduct The Modern African American Pioneer Expedition. His 5,000 mile- journey through 13 states took six months. On the Trail of the Ancestors: A Black Cowboy’s Ride Across America allows readers to put on a cowboy hat and boots and climb in the saddle to ride with Dean.

Dean's inspirational journey was conceived to celebrate the contributions of African Americans in US history; his story brings the reader into large cities and small towns, connecting with the horseback ride and the many people he met. Through his daily regimen of riding his horse, the reader witnesses the physical and emotional discipline required to complete such a journey. Dean’s story demonstrates that an ordinary person can accomplish the extraordinary.

This book recounts how one man followed his childhood dream. Dean’s commitment to his journey helped him battle a brain tumor, his gratitude to his ancestors fortified his resilience, and his dedication to honoring heroes in history via his horse kept him on the road. For all Americans, this book illuminates the contributions of many unknown heroes in history - black jockeys, abolitionists, cowboys, US marshals, and more.

Lisa K. Winkler is an author and educational consultant. Follow her blog at www.cyclingrandma.wordpress.com and visit Miles Dean's Modern African American Pioneer Expedition website at www.MilesDean.com!

Love Stories and Poetry for Horse People: A Valentine's Day Collection

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa Wright) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:10:00 +0000

If you love a horse or a horse-person, celebrate Valentine's Day - or any day! - with these stories and poems about love and friendship.

Poetry
* All in Green, by e.e. cummings
* Eros and Equus (collection of poetry and story excerpts), edited by Laura Chester
* Horses and Men in Rain, by Carl Sandburg
* Reverie, by Walter de la Mare
* Say This of Horses (poetry collection), edited by C.E. Greer and Jenny Kander
* Venus and Adonis, by William Shakespeare
* The White Horse, by D.H. Lawrence

Novels
* The Blessings of the Animals, by Katrina Kittle
* Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte
* Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Esquivel
* The Hearts of Horses, by Molly Gloss
* Horseplay, by Judy Reene Singer
* The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
* Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen

Nonfiction
* Horses with a Mission: Extraordinary True Stories of Equine Service, by Allen and Linda Anderson
* This is Not the Story You Think It Is: A Season of Unlikely Happiness, by Laura Munson

* Women Are from Venus and So Are Their Horses: A Grown Man's Musings on the Opposite Sex in the Saddle, by Menno Kalman

Stories for Kids
* The Black Stallion, by Walter Farley
* Cinderella, by Charles Perrault
* Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa (series), by Erica Silverman
* The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses and Mystic Horse, by Paul Goble
* My Friend Flicka, by Mary O'Hara
* Ponyella, by Laura Numeroff
* Unlikely Friendships: 47 Remarkable Stories from the Animal Kingdom, by Jennifer Holland

What Makes a Cowboy? Ghetto Cowboy, by G. Neri, illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa Wright) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:55:00 +0000

"I think about how Harper talked to the horse earlier. I let my hand move up to his neck and keep saying, "Good boy, good boy." He moves his hoof and almost steps on my foot. I can feel his weight when that hoof goes down. That makes me nervous, like maybe he don't know how big he is. But when I look back up at his face, he looking right at me, and then I know he knows that I'm there. And suddenly I don't feel so scared no more."
- from Ghetto Cowboy, by G. Neri

In 2005, award-winning author and poet G. Neri read an article in Life magazine titled Street Riders, which described the modern-day urban cowboys and horses living in North Philadelphia's Fletcher Street neighborhood.

Inspired by their story, Neri wrote Ghetto Cowboy. In this novel for tweens, twelve-year-old Cole has gotten into so much trouble that his mother drives him halfway across the country, hoping that living with his father will help Cole turn his life around. Cole is shocked to discover that his father runs a stable in their downtown Philadelphia neighborhood, and that a group of urban cowboys and local kids care for, train, and ride the horses together.

As he learns about the history of black cowboys and befriends a horse at the stable (whom he names Boo), Cole finds new confidence and strong sense of purpose. When the city officials try to close down the stable to turn the land over to developers, Cole joins his father, the cowboys, and other neighborhood residents in taking action to keep their horses and protect their traditions. It doesn't matter what time or place you live in, Cole comes to understand, it's your choices that make you a cowboy.

A Junior Library Guild Selection and the winner of the 2012 Horace Mann Upstanders Children's Book Award, Ghetto Cowboy is a gripping and powerful story, richly written and glowingly illustrated. It also invites young readers to explore cowboy history and current events - which Neri spotlights in a collection of videos, pictures, and articles on his website - and to gallop on and read Neri's other great books!

G. Neri's "Ghetto Cowboy" book trailer from Greg Neri on Vimeo.

Looking for more books about African American horsemen and horsewomen in history? Check out the post, Celebrate Black History: 20 Books Honoring African American Horsemen and Horsewomen.

A Nicker Louder than the Thin Voice: Hunger, by Jackie Morse Kessler

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa Wright) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:45:00 +0000

"Lisabeth Lewis didn't mean to become Famine. She had a love affair with food, and she'd never liked horses (never mind the time she asked for a pony when she was eight; that was just a girl thing). If she'd been asked which Horseman of the Apocalypse she would most likely be, she would have probably replied, "War." And if you'd heard her and her boyfriend, James, fighting, you would have agreed. Lisa wasn't a Famine person, despite the eating disorder."
- from Hunger, by Jackie Morse Kessler

Death interrupted Lisabeth Lewis's suicide attempt. He wanted to offer the anorexic 17-year-old a job: become the new Famine, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Lisabeth accepts, tentatively, but as she confronts the suffering brought about by hunger, struggles with family and peer pressures, and is tormented by the relentless, driving cruelty of her own inner Thin Voice, she discovers that she must ultimately answer the two questions that she most fears. What does it mean to live fully - and does she want to live?

One true friend on her journey is the enormous black horse who carries Famine, whom Lisabeth names Midnight. Gentle, goofy, and with a predilection for pralines, Midnight gives Lisabeth the freedom to - quite literally - rise above her troubles, and offers the kind of equine acceptance and friendship that helps her find balance while wielding Famine's scales.

Author Jackie Morse Kessler portrays Hunger's conflicts and characters - human and equine - realistically and with flair. You won't find a single "soapbox speech" among its pages, or a neat-and-tidy ending - just a deeply compelling story that invites readers to think about what each of us can do, both for ourselves and for others. At the end of Hunger, Kessler also includes an Author's Note that touches on her own struggle with bulimia and closes by offering this real-life helping hoof:

"If you have an eating disorder - whether you starve yourself or you make yourself purge or you exercise until you can't walk or you eat and eat and eat - know this: you are not alone.
And you can get help.
The National Eating Disorders Association (www.nationaleatingdisorders.org) is a nonprofit organization. NEDA provides support, both to those suffering with eating disorders and their families. NEDA helps teach people about prevention and cures. And NEDA can help people find quality care. You can call NEDA toll free and confidentially at 1-800-931-2237.
A portion of the proceeds from Hunger will be donated to NEDA. So if you bought this book, thank you for helping others."

Racing in the Snow: The White Turf Races of St. Moritz, Switzerland

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa Wright) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 06:38:00 +0000

For more than 100 years, horse-racing fans have gathered every winter on the gorgeous white slopes of Switzerland's St. Moritz to watch the White Turf races. Horses and their riders whip up the the snow in flat races and trotting races, and dazzle with displays of extraordinary courage and skill in ski-joring. In ski-joring, a horse (or horse and rider) tow a skier or snowboarder down a snowy lane at a gallop. As if that weren't mane-rasising enough, at White Turf, the horses and ski-jorers all race at the same time, like a steeplechase - and in other organizations' events, a skier or snowboarder, racing singly, may navigate a course of cones, spear hanging rings, and catch some air off of spectacular ramp jumps!

You can get a birds-eye of the races from White Turf's webcams or browse their stunning photo collection, and don't forget to read White Turf's history while you're keeping up with your favorite competitors!

The Literary Horse: When Legends Come to Life Exhibit on Connecticut Now!

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa Wright) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:35:00 +0000

Thanks to the Plainville Public Library and Susan Rooney, Plainville's hay-mazing children's librarian, PPL's Literary Horse exhibit got a spot on Connecticut Now! Thank you, Susan, and thanks to the Plainville community for trotting on out to visit!

Would you like to bring The Literary Horse: When Legends Come to Life exhibit to your public, school, or university library? Visit The Literary Horse Exhibit website or email me to learn how!

How a Jack Russell Terrier Saved Christmas: Olive, the Other Reindeer, by J. Otto Seibold and Vivian Walsh

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa Wright) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 10:05:00 +0000

Leave it to a Jack Russell terrier to save Christmas – and to give marching orders to Santa and his reindeer!

In J. Otto Siebold and Vivian Walsh's picture book, Olive, the Other Reindeer, a Russell (or Russell-lookalike!) named Olive mishears the line from the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer song, “All of the other reindeer” as “Olive, the other reindeer,” decides that she must be a reindeer, and promptly takes two buses and reports for duty at the North Pole. Santa and the reindeer tie Olive to the flying sleigh with a ribbon so that she can join them in delivering presents on Christmas Eve. But when the team encounters a series of silly mishaps, Olive uses her unique abilities to keep them on course and guide them safely home.

If a Jack Russell manages your barn or if your young and young-at-heart readers just love a dog or dogs of any breed, Olive, the Other Reindeer offers an endearing and funny adventure, brought to life with exuberant, ultra-hip cartoon illustrations. Olive's story was also adapted into a sharp animated feature by Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons. So whether you prefer books or the silver screen, get ready: this determined terrier will trot some "dogged" cheer into your holiday!

Looking for more horse-themed books, music, and movies for the holidays? Try these great titles:

* And Winter Came (album), by Enya
* Calico the Wonder Horse, or The Saga of Stewy Stinker (children's book), by Virginia Lee Burton
* David Copperfield (novel), by Charles Dickens
* A Horse for Hanukkah (children's book), by Myriam Halberstam, illustrated by Nancy Cote
* Ernest's Special Christmas (children's book), by Laura Barnes, illustrated by Carol Camburn
* Jingle Bells (books, music, and history), by James Lord Pierpont and various artists
* Jingle-Jingle (children's book), by Nicola Smee
* The Hearts of Horses (novel), by Molly Gloss
* A Little House Christmas: Holiday Stories from the Little House Books, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
* Little Women (novel), by Louisa May Alcott
* The Magical Christmas Horse (children's book), by Mary Higgins Clark
* Out Stealing Horses (novel), by Per Petterson
* Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (song), by Robert May
* The Saddle Club #13: Starlight Christmas, by Bonnie Bryant
* Sleigh Ride (song), by Leroy Anderson
* Snowflake (step-up reader), by Suzanne Weyn
* Stubby Pringle's Christmas (kids' novel), by Jack Schaefer
* Twas the Night Before Christmas (poem, book, song, and movie), by Clement Moore and various artists
* Winter's Tale, by Mark Helprin
* Winter Wonderland (song), by Richard Smith and various artists

Happy National Day of the Horse!

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa Wright) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 23:53:00 +0000

Happy Horse-Day! In America, December 13th is the National Day of the Horse. No matter what country you live in, though, if you love horses, grab a great horse book, give your favorite horse a hug, and click over to HorseChannel.com's National Day of the Horse page for more info and activities to help you celebrate our planet's extraordinary equines!

The Literary Horse Exhibit in Horse Back Magazine: Pin Oak Charity Horse Show Celebrates 67 years as it Steps Up and Steps Out for Children in 2012, by Roxanne Cook

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa Wright) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:15:00 +0000

The Literary Horse: When Legends Come to Life exhibit has trotted into Horseback magazine! The article, Pin Oak Charity Horse Show Celebrates 67 years as it Steps Up and Steps Out for Children in 2012, highlights the exhibit's proud participation in the 2012 Pin Oak Charity Horse Show's Education Days events.

Read the article online at Horseback magazine, and mark your calendar for the Pin Oak Charity Horse Show and The Literary Horse exhibit in Houston this spring!

The Solace of Horses: Misery, by Anton Chekhov

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa Wright) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:33:00 +0000

The days darken early now. The darkness, savage and eager, deepens the cold, hardens the ice. For those who gather around cheery hearth fires or congregate in the glow of menorah candles and Christmas lights, the dark and the cold are conquered things, no more than strong underlines of a season dedicated to family, friendship, and enduring, renewing joy.

For others, though, the holidays are a time when the darkness of loss and the biting chill of pain grip them most deeply. Whatever the date, whatever the reason, talking about it often helps. And for those times when it feels like human friends don't - or can't - understand, it may help, at least a little, to talk to a horse.

In Anton Chekhov's story story, Misery, a man whose son passed away finds solace in talking to his horse. In an insightful review and analysis on his blog, Will Hansen, Assistant Curator of Special Collections at Duke University, writes that the main character, Iona, "...can only find sympathy and relief from an animal who cannot understand him, not from the humans who shy away when he mentions his dead son - but there is also something tender and natural in this ending, in this kind of benediction that’s felt in the breath on Iona’s hands, in the thawing of the heart to which it leads."

You can read Misery online at About.com's Classical Literature library and in print collections of Chekhov's short stories, including the Norton's Critical Edition, edited by Ralph Matlaw. Be sure to check out Discovery News, too: Jennifer Viegas's article, Horses Never Forget Human Friends, presents a study that shows that horses may understand us - and what we say - better than we might think.

Lovely Weather for a Sleigh Ride: Sleigh Ride, by Leroy Anderson and Mitchell Parish

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa Wright) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 14:44:00 +0000

It was in a sweltering July in 1946 when Leroy Anderson began composing the orchestral piece Sleigh Ride. But since then, the music - alone or paired with lyrics by Mitchell Parish - has transported young and old into a horse-drawn sleigh singing over silvery winter fields during the holidays.

One of the top ten most popular pieces of holiday music played around the world, Sleigh Ride has been performed by thousands of orchestras, bands, and singers. For recordings, check out the Boston Pops Orchestra's collection and browse Wikipedia's list of vocal versions, which includes Air Supply, Garth Brooks, Chicago, Harry Connick Jr., Bing Crosby, Hilary Duff, Ella Fitzgerald, the Muppets, the Three Tenors, and Hayley Westenra.

Sleigh Ride
Music by Leroy Anderson, Lyrics by Mitchell Parish

Just hear those sleigh bells jingling
Ring ting tingling too.
Come on, it's lovely weather
For a sleigh ride together with you.

Outside the snow is falling
And friends are calling 'Yoo-hoo.'
Come on, it's lovely weather
For a sleigh ride together with you.

Giddy up, giddy up, giddy up,
Let's go, Let's look at the show
We're riding in a wonderland of snow.

Giddy up, giddy up, giddy up,
It's grand, Just holding your hand,
We're gliding along with a song
Of a wintry fairy land.

Our cheeks are nice and rosy
And comfy cozy are we
We're snuggled up together
Like two birds of a feather would be.

Let's take that road before us
And sing a chorus or two
Come on, it's lovely weather
For a sleigh ride together with you.

There's a birthday party
At the home of Farmer Gray
It'll be the perfect ending a perfect day
We'll be singing the songs
We love to sing without a single stop,
At the fireplace while we watch
The chestnuts pop.
Pop pop pop.

There's a happy feeling
Nothing in the world can buy,
When they pass around the chocolate
And the pumpkin pie
It'll nearly be like a picture print
By Currier and Ives
These wonderful things are the things
We remember all through our lives.

Holiday Books for Horse Lovers: Top Ten Christmas, Hanukkah, and Winter Holiday Themed Horse Books

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa Wright) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:24:00 +0000

Whether you're looking for a book to give as a gift, a story to share with your children or students, or a tale to curl up with in a quiet moment, these ten titles will be sure to write - and sing! - some horse-drawn happiness into your holidays.

10. Jingle Bells, by Eren Blanquet Unten: (Kids) Teach your young horse-lovers how to sing Jingle Bells with this dazzling pop-up book! The text is simply the first two verses of the song, but the intricate and ingenious pop-up illustrations - most of which star a merry and spirited horse - will whirl young and young-at-heart carolers into the exhilarating fun of the song's sleigh ride.

9. A Horse for Hanukkah, by Myriam Halberstam, illustrated by Nancy Cote: (Kids) Hannah's wish finally comes true: her parents give her a horse for Hanukkah. The horse, Golda, is sweet and curious, lives in their apartment, and even speaks Hebrew. But when Golda starts causing horse-sized trouble during the family's celebration, Hannah wonders if her wish might have brought her more than she bargained for! A delightful romp with dreamlike illustrations, this is a book that belongs on every wish list. Special order A Horse for Hanukkah from its German publisher, Ariella Books, and look for it in US bookstores.

8. A Little House Christmas: Holiday Stories from the Little House Books, by Laura Ingalls Wilder: (Kids) Celebrate Christmas on the prairie with the Ingalls family! This book includes eight heart-warming stories and songs about Christmas on the American frontier, but horse-lovers will be drawn to two stories in particular. In Mr. Edwards Meets Santa Claus, Laura and Mary learn that Santa sometimes drives a pack mule and wagon - and that he sometimes needs help bringing Christmas to every family, too. In The Christmas Horses, Pa's dream of getting a new team of horses can only come true if, as Ma says, "we all wish for horses, and nothing but horses." Will Laura and Mary set aside their Christmas lists and wish for horses for Pa? This read-aloud edition beautifully unfurls the stories; older children can also read the tales themselves in the chapter book version, Christmas Stories.

7. The Saddle Club #13: Starlight Christmas, by Bonnie Bryant: (Kids) It wouldn't be the holidays for The Saddle Club trio - 12 year old Carole Hanson and Stevie Lake, and 13 year old Lisa Atwood - without a sleigh-full of pratfalls and surprises. In Starlight Christmas, Carole's dad enlists Stevie and Lisa's help in finding the perfect Christmas gift for Carole: a horse of her own. But the girls have to keep the gift a secret, too, which isn't easy, since Carole is working with the local veterinarian at the horse's barn. Meanwhile, the girls aren't the only ones who are planning a surprise: the club's foe, the spoiled Veronica diAngelo, is trying to trick the girls and their friends, Phil and A.J., into missing Pine Hollow Stables' beloved annual holiday event, the Starlight Ride. Starlight Christmas is a merry, lively read that celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah, and if your favorite horse-lover isn't yet a card-carrying, saddle-toting member of The Saddle Club, it's an inviting introduction to the rest of the 100-book series.

6. The Hearts of Horses, by Molly Gloss: (Teens, Adults) Fall in love this holiday season with The Hearts of Horses! Leaving behind her troubled past, nineteen year old Martha Lessen sets out to become a "footloose" gentler and trainer of horses for the ranchers and homesteaders of eastern Oregon, but finds among them a community, a home, and love that lasts. Gloss tells Martha's story with the fierce and sweeping beauty, honesty, and detail of an epic Western, and weaves into it the challenges, changes, and profound losses both people and the nation faced during the World War I era. Poignant without being sentimental, honest without losing hope, reading The Hearts of Horses is the kind of experience that, as one of the characters says, "just [goes] right down into my heart to shake it awake.” Holiday readers may make a timely connection, sharing a holiday season with Martha and the ranchers, and seeing Martha's world from horseback as she "rides the circle" of ranches on Christmas Day.

5. David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens: (Teens, Adults) Once you've finished reading A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens' story of miserly Ebenezer Scrooge's encounter with the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, be sure to pick up another of his masterpieces, David Copperfield. Beginning with the now-famous line, "Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show," Dickens' narrator, David "Trot" Copperfield tells the story of the friendships and betrayals, the bright ideals and harsh realities, and the acts of love and vengeance that shaped his life. The book includes lavishly written holiday scenes and takes place in the riotously horsey world of Britain in the early 19th century. Go ahead and "Trot" right into these books any time - A Christmas Carol and David Copperfield are available in print editions and as free downloads at Project Gutenberg.

4. Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott: (Kids, Teens, Adults) With their father away serving as a chaplain in the Union Army during the Civil War, the four March family sisters - diligent Meg, feisty Jo, artistic Amy, and gentle Beth - and their mother must struggle against poverty, society's expectations, and, at times, their own changing natures to achieve their dreams. The story opens with the March family's Christmas, and later introduces Alcott's unforgettable horses: Ellen Tree, Laurie the "centaur", and Jo's Arabians, stabled in her castle. A classic since its first publication in 1868, Little Women is available today in print editions for children and adults and as a free download from Project Gutenberg!

3. Snowflake, by Suzanne Weyn: (Kids) In this Breyer Stablemates step-up reader, best friends Emily, Anna, and Mandy welcome a rescued Percheron, whom they name Snowflake, to Fox Creek Farm. The three girls feed, groom, and care for Snowflake, and when they discover that none of the farm's winter blankets will fit him, they decide to raise money to buy the horse a blanket of his own. Finding an old sleigh in the barn and discovering that Snowflake knows how to pull it, the girls, the farm owners, and Snowflake offer one-horse-open-sleigh rides, raising enough money to buy Snowflake's blanket and to build him a run-in shed. Cheerful watercolors illustrate this inspiring story and a closing page with facts about Percherons will encourage readers to continue learning more about horses and horse care.

2. Calico the Wonder Horse, or The Saga of Stewy Stinker, by Virginia Lee Burton: (Kids) When Stewy Stinker and his Badlands gang hold up Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, it's up to Calico the Wonder Horse, "the smartest, fastest horse in all of Cactus County," and her cowboy, Hank, to save Christmas and bring the villains to justice. Caldecott Medal winning author Virginia Lee Burton's witty Western dialogue and captivating comic-book format will make this tall tale a bullseye with any young audience!

1. Ernest's Special Christmas, by Laura Barnes, illustrated by Carol Camburn: (Kids, Teens, Adults) During a snowstorm on Christmas Eve, the miniature donkey, Ernest, notices that all of the animals are in the barn except his friend, the old draft horse, Chester. Ernest goes out to search for Chester and finds the horse lying almost buried in the snow, too weak and too tired to stand. Ernest is neither large enough nor strong enough to help Chester alone, but with the help of all of the animals in the barnyard - the cows, the horses, the donkeys, and even the birds - they are able to raise the big horse onto his feet again. The story, which Barnes closes with the lines, "With love and determination they had helped their friend. ...This was the best gift of all," captures the true spirit of the holiday season: selfless, compassionate, and joyful in fellowship. Camburn's heart-breakingly sweet watercolor illustrations bring such life and expression to the characters that readers of all ages will find themselves reaching out to help the animals - and reaching out to read Ernest's Special Christmas again and again for years to come.

And a bonus book, Pegasus's Pick: Jingle-Jingle by Nicola Smee: Your horse will love this book as much as you and your family will! In Jingle-Jingle, Mr. Horse invites Cat, Dog, Pig, and Duck to ride in his sleigh - but when he jumps in himself, he also discovers how much fun a sleigh ride with friends can be. A hilarious, playful, and friendly story with huggably adorable illustrations, this book is perfect for your young horse-lover's first or second jingle bell season, though it will brighten and cheer the spirits of anyone - human or equine - who reads it.

Looking for more horse-themed books, music, and movies for the holidays? Give these titles a whirl!

* And Winter Came (album), by Enya

* Jingle Bells (books, music, and history), by James Lord Pierpont and various artists

* The Magical Christmas Horse (children's book), by Mary Higgins Clark

* Olive, the Other Reindeer (children's book - about a Jack Russell who thinks she's a reindeer), by Vivian Walsh

* Out Stealing Horses (novel), by Per Petterson

* Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (song), by Robert May

* Sleigh Ride (song), by Leroy Anderson
* Stubby Pringle's Christmas (kids' novel), by Jack Schaefer

* Twas the Night Before Christmas (poem, book, song, and movie), by Clement Moore and various artists

* Winter's Tale, by Mark Helprin

* Winter Wonderland (song), by Richard Smith and various artists

Celebrate Thanksgiving Day with Horses: Over the River and Through the Wood - A Boy's Thanksgiving Day, by Lydia Maria Child, illustrated by Matt Tavares

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa Wright) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:53:00 +0000

Over the river, and through the wood,
To Grandfather's house we go;
The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh
through the white and drifted snow...
- from A Boy's Thanksgiving Day, by Lydia Maria Child

Since 1844, the sound of children singing the words of Lydia Maria Child's poem, A Boy's Thanksgiving Day - better known as Over the river and through the wood - has looped and wafted from windows alongside the scents of cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. This year, artist Matt Tavares and Candlewick press offer a dashing addition to families' Thanksgiving traditions: a picture book titled Over the River and Through the Wood, which pairs each verse of Child's classic poem with bright and sprightly full-page watercolor-and-pencil illustrations. Echoing the language of Child's time and sparkling with Norman Rockwell-like detail, the book may well carry your young readers - and singers - away into history in the rushing sleigh, among the snowy pines, and by the busy New England town, right beside the poem's characters and their spirited horse!

Interested in the poem's own journey over the river and through the wood? Read the full text of Lydia Maria Child's poem and listen to a version of the song below. Check out Child's biography and visit the real "Grandfather's house" online: Child's grandfather's home in Medford, Massachusetts, which has been restored and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Also, be sure to trot on over to artist Matt Tavares' website and watch this video that shows him creating the book's springing dapple grey...

A Boy's Thanksgiving Day

by Lydia Maria Child, 1844

Over the river, and through the wood,

To Grandfather's house we go;

The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh

through the white and drifted snow.

Over the river, and through the wood,
To Grandfather's house away!
We would not stop for doll or top,
For this is Thanksgiving Day.

Over the river, and through the wood—
Oh, how the wind does blow!
It stings the toes and bites the nose
As over the ground we go.

Over the river, and through the wood,
With a clear blue winter sky,
The dogs do bark, and children hark,
As we go jingling by.

Over the river, and through the wood,
To have a first-rate play.
Hear the bells ring, "Ting-a-ling-ding",
Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!

Over the river, and through the wood,
No matter for winds that blow,
Or if we get the sleigh upset
Into a bank of snow

Over the river, and through the wood,
To see little John and Ann.
We will kiss them all, and play snow-ball,
And stay as long as we can.

Over the river, and through the wood
Trot fast, my dapple-gray!
Spring over the ground like a hunting-hound,
For this is Thanksgiving Day.

Over the river, and through the wood—
And straight through the barnyard gate,
We seem to go extremely slow,
It is so hard to wait!

Over the river, and through the wood,
Old Jowler hears our bells.
He shakes his pow, with a loud bow-wow,
And thus the news he tells.

Over the river, and through the wood,
When Grandmother sees us come,
She will say, "Oh, dear, the children are here,
Bring a pie for everyone."

Over the river, and through the wood—
Now Grandmother's cap I spy!
Hurrah for the fun! Is the pudding done?
Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!

Calling All Little Cowboys and Cowgirls: Tex - A Book for Little Dreamers, by Dorie McCullough Lawson

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa Wright) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 14:32:00 +0000

Do you know children between the ages of two and five who love to imagine that they're cowboys or cowgirls? Then you might want to round up a copy of Dorie McCullough Lawson's Tex: A Book for Little Dreamers.

In Tex, a young boy named Luke imagines that he's a cowboy working on a ranch out West. Lawson describes his day's chores in simple, eloquent text - "He rides. He irrigates. He rounds up the herd." - and illustrates each task with colorful, kid-friendly photos. The pages invite questions and conversation: you'll be talking tractors, cowdogs, and horses-in-the-ranch-house until the cows (and Luke!) come home, curl up, and fall contentedly asleep.

Tex is a prize pick for any little cow-kid. Pair it with Virginia Lee Burton's Calico the Wonder Horse, or the Saga of Stewy Stinker and Erica Silverman's Theodor (Seuss) Geisel Honor Award winning Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa series to rustle up a horseback cattle drive of fun!

**As a bonus, during the 2011 holiday season, sharing Tex can be a gift twice over. On Trafalgar Square's book blog, the publisher announces this book drive in support of the Pajama Program:

"Help us celebrate the Pajama Program’s tenth-year pajama-and-book drive! Trafalgar Square Books is donating 10 sets of jammies and 10 copies of its new children’s book TEX by Dorie McCullough Lawson (appropriately, a bedtime story!) in honor of 10 years of the Pajama Program’s efforts in getting books and warm sleepwear to the children who need them most. In addition, 10% of all TEX book sales from TSB website www.HorseandRiderBooks.com through January 1, 2012, will go to the Pajama Program.

The Pajama Program provides new books and new pajamas to children in need, many who are waiting and hoping to be adopted. These children live in various settings including group homes, shelters, and temporary housing, and are shuffled often from one place to another. Many of them have been abandoned, abused, or neglected. Most of these children have never enjoyed the simple comfort of having a mother or father tuck them in at bedtime with warm, clean pajamas and a bedtime story. Some of the children the Pajama Program serves are living with their families below the poverty level, in desperate need of food, clothing and shelter. Pajama Program has 79 chapters in 42 States and operates three (3) Reading Centers: New York, NY, Yonkers, NY and Red Bank, NJ. Around the U.S. their local chapters have begun organizing reading groups for the children they serve in their communities.

Pajama Program celebrates its tenth birthday serving children this year. They have now provided more than 1 MILLION new pajamas and new books to children in need nationwide.

For more: www.pajamaprogram.org facebook.com/PajamaProgram twitter.com/pajamaprogram"

An Oasis for Arabian Horse Aficionados: "New Arabian horse library officially opened" via Horsetalk and the W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Library

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa Wright) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 14:28:00 +0000

If you want to read or learn the entire story of the Arabian horse, you have a long journey ahead: the Arabian is an ancient breed, with a culturally rich history that unfurls across many countries - and centuries. Yet now there's a new oasis on the horizon for Arabian horse aficionados. At the W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Library, Horsetalk reports, librarians, researchers, equine experts, and enthusiasts have gathered the world's largest collection of materials about the Arabian horse.

The collection spans 300 years of Arabian horse history, and items range from books and movies to artwork and photographs to letters, manuscripts, stud books, training manuals, and "all known Arabian horse periodicals ...including foreign language publications." Located on the campus of the California State Polytechnic Institute in Pomona, the library is free and open to the public.

Ready to start - or continue - following the tale of the Arabian horse? Read the Horsetalk article, "New Arabian horse library officially opened," visit the Kellogg Arabian Horse Library website, and, along the way, create a mini-oasis whenever you wish by reading classic short stories and novels about Arabian horses like these:

* The Black Stallion, by Walter Farley
* Broiefort, the Black Arabian (from The Wonder-Book of Horses), adapted by James Baldwin
* The Enchanted Horse (from The Arabian Nights), translated by Andrew Lang
* King of the Wind, by Marguerite Henry
* Rakush and His Master (from The Wonder-Book of Horses), adapted by James Baldwin
* Samirah's Ride: The Story of an Arabian Filly, by Annie Wedekind

Yeehaw! A New Photo in Dennis Brouse on Horse Training: Bonding with Your Horse through Gentle Leadership, by Dennis Brouse and Fran Lynghaug

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa Wright) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:01:00 +0000

Yeehaw! A photo I took during a Literary Horse shoot at Chasin Dreams Farm, the home of Personal Ponies of Maryland and Personal Ponies’ national director, Denise Chasin, will be published in the new book, Dennis Brouse on Horse Training: Bonding with Your Horse through Gentle Leadership!

It was an honor and such a treat to take those photos: Personal Ponies is a 20-year-old national nonprofit organization whose volunteer members provide trained UK Shetland Ponies to families of children with disabilities, special needs, and terminal illnesses, completely without charge, to be the child’s trustworthy companion and forever friend. Check out the photo in the book, read the Great Books for Horse Lovers post about Personal Ponies - Horses Make a Place Complete: Under the Lilacs by Louisa May Alcott and Personal Ponies - and learn how *you* can help make “pony magic” at www.PersonalPonies.org!

Holiday - and Everyday! - Treats for Horses: The Original Book of Horse Treats, by June Evers and the Portland Kitchen Libraries

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa Wright) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:48:00 +0000

Celebrate the holidays - or any days! - with horses. June Evers makes it easy and fun to make equi-centric special meals and goodies in her cookbook, The Original Book of Horse Treats: Recipes You Can Make at Home for Your Horse.

The recipes are straightforward and friendly. Even novice adult and teen chefs can navigate the step-by-step directions, while younger kids can help with mixing, rolling, and, of course, garnishing the treats with grape halves, peppermint candies, and carrot tops.

One warning, though: I made a few of Evers' treats for my horse, Pegasus, and I found them so endearing that I thought, "Gee, I should make these for all of the horses at the barn! I could make cookies for the people, too. With some music and games, we could have a party..." The Original Book of Horse Treats inspires and invites you to celebrate, decorate, and bring grown-ups and kids and horses together to be merry, like a kind of Martha Stewart of stables.

I know, I know, horses don't care how their food looks, and like almost all of the things we give them, treats are so many gifts of the magi. So call it a horse-friendly way to share the "extra" roasted carrots, baked apples, and crushed candy canes from your favorite holiday feast. Let it be a way to have fun in the kitchen with your family and friends. Make it a present to your favorite horse, horses, stable, club, riding program, or horse shelter. Their presence is the present - why not celebrate?

Need a few extra kitchen utensils for your human or horse holiday cooking? You might want to trot over to your local library: at libraries like the North Portland Preserve and Serve and the Southeast Portland Tool Library, you can borrow kitchen equipment and tools.

Book Giveaway: Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas Horse Book Giveaway at Barista Kids

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa Wright) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:37:00 +0000

Barista Kids is offering a four-book holiday giveaway! The titles are Turkey Bowl, by Phil Bildne, Thank You, Sarah, by Laurie Halse Anderson, Hanukkah Hop! by Erica Silverman, and The Magical Christmas Horse, by Mary Higgins Clark. Click over to the Barista Kids blog to read a review of each book and to enter the contest. Don't wait: the contest ends tomorrow, Tuesday, November 15th.

Looking for more horse books for the holiday season? Check out the post Holiday Books for Horse Lovers: Top Ten Christmas, Hanukkah, and Winter Holiday Themed Horse Books!

A Homecoming for Wild Horses: Przewalski's Wild Horses Gallop Back to Life, by Jan Marchal via AFP

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa Wright) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:08:00 +0000

You know them from the Lascaux cave paintings: the golden, bottle-brush maned Przewalski's horses. But thanks to the efforts of the Czech Republic's Prague Zoo, Jan Marchal reports today, you'll soon be able to see the horses in the wild again: having preserved the breed in captivity, the zoo staff and an international team of supporters will be re-introducing a small herd of Przewalski's horses to their ancestral home in grasslands of Mongolia. Read the full story in Marchal's article, Przewalski's Wild Horses Gallop Back to Life.

A Scientific Reason to Drop Everything and Ride: Play - How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul, by Stuart Brown, M.D.

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa Wright) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:46:00 +0000

"The great benefits of play ...are the ability to become smarter, to learn more about the world than genes alone could ever teach, to adapt to a changing world."
- from Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul, by Stuart Brown, M.D.

Finally, horse-lovers have a scientific reason to drop everything and ride, read, and generally have fun with horses! In Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul, Dr. Stuart Brown reveals that play isn't just for fun: even a few minutes of horsing around can boost your brain, increase your creativity, improve your health, and refresh you as thoroughly as a good night's sleep.

Pairing serious research with examples of playful kittens and polar bears - as well as toddlers through CEOs - Dr. Brown explains how kids, teens, and adults can bring play into - or back into - their lives. One particularly powerful example is of a woman who loved horses as a child, left them behind to focus intently on family and career, and then, after making space for them in her busy adult life, rediscovered "irrational bliss" and experienced personal renewal. Brown writes:

"Play is called recreation because it makes us new again, it re-creates us and our world. As Laurel demonstrated when she began riding horses, just a little true play in one's life can bring everything else, including work, back in balance."

You can learn more about the book and read the first chapter for free at Dr. Stuart Brown's website. If you're ready to get serious - or silly! - about horses and riding, check out Great Books for Horse Lovers post, Start Your Great Horse Adventure Today! Top Twelve Books for Getting into - or Back into - Horseback Riding.

Seeing Spots? "Spotted Horses in Cave Art Weren’t Just a Figment, DNA Shows" by Hillary Rosner, via The New York Times

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa Wright) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:35:00 +0000

If you decided to draw a horse, what kind of horse would you draw? A horse that lives in your backyard, a horse you once saw while driving down a dusty highway, or a horse from your imagination - bird-winged, bat-winged, blue ...or polka-dotted?

That's the focal point of a question that has puzzled archaeologists, geneticists, and horse-lovers for nearly 25,000 years. Paleolithic-era paintings in the caves at Pech Merle in France and at other sites throughout Europe depict horses who have spotted coats. But until the publication of a new, startling research paper, Hillary Rosner reports in today's New York Times, no one has known whether the ancient artists were painting horses they knew or horses they could only imagine.

“One of the things that most pleases me about this paper as a piece of ancient DNA science,” [Dr. Terry O’Connor, an archaeologist at the University of York and researcher on the project] said, “is it kind of begins with a question. These spotty horses, were they magical or real?"

Read the full story in Hillary Rosner's colorful and fascinating article, Spotted Horses in Cave Art Weren’t Just a Figment, DNA Shows in The New York Times, and be sure to check out the research paper at the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences online.

Want to learn more about cave paintings and other ancient equestrian art? Visit the websites of the Pech Merle and Lascaux caves and browse the reviews of equestrian art books in the Great Books for Horse Lovers post, An Equine Art Museum in the Palm of Your Hoof!

The Glow of Love, from Horseback: Among All Lovely Things My Love Had Been, by William Wordsworth

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa Wright) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:40:00 +0000

Among All Lovely Things My Love Had Been
by William Wordsworth

Among all lovely things my Love had been;
Had noted well the stars, all flowers that grew
About her home; but she had never seen
A glow-worm, never one, and this I knew.

While riding near her home one stormy night
A single glow-worm did I chance to espy;
I gave a fervent welcome to the sight,
And from my horse I leapt; great joy had I.

Upon a leaf the glow-worm did I lay,
To bear it with me through the stormy night:
And, as before, it shone without dismay;
Albeit putting forth a fainter light.

When to the dwelling of my Love I came,
I went into the orchard quietly;
And left the glow-worm, blessing it by name,
Laid safely by itself, beneath a tree.

The whole next day, I hoped, and hoped with fear;
At night the glow-worm shone beneath the tree;
I led my Lucy to the spot, "Look here,"
Oh! joy it was for her, and joy for me!

The Must-Read Horse Book for the First Day of November: The Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater

noreply@blogger.com (Vanessa Wright) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:52:00 +0000

"It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die.
Even under the brightest sun, the frigid autumn sea is all the colors of the night: dark blue and black and brown. I watch the ever-changing patterns in the sand, the beach pummeled by countless hooves.
They run the horses on the beach, a pale road between the black ocean and the dark cliffs, because the sand is a better surface for the horses' legs. It is never safe, but it's never so dangerous as today, race day.
This time of year, I live and breathe the beach. My cheeks feel raw with the wind throwing sand against them. My thighs sting from the friction of the saddle. My arms ache from holding up two thousand pounds of horse. I have forgotten what it is like to be warm and what a full night's sleep feels like and what my name sounds like spoken instead of shouted across yards of sand.
I am so, so alive."
- from The Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater

Water horses still lurk in the sea that surrounds the remote island of Thisby. Called capaill uisce, they are more like sea monsters than horses: savage and bloodthirsty, they will hunt, kill, and devour any animal or human foolish enough to come within range of their anvil-like hooves and dagger-like teeth. They can be restrained by iron, chanting, and other swiftly-fading remnants of fairy magic, but only barely, only enough to give a man a moment's chance to capture it, or to ride.

The people of Thisby love and fear and hate the water horses, as the water horses love and fear and hate them. So, every year, the bravest - and most desperate - men of Thisby capture a water horse, harness it, and ride for their lives in the Scorpio Races.

Until this year. Teenage Kate "Puck" Connolly enters the race in the hopes of saving her home and keeping her family together. Yet while the people of Thisby argue over whether she should race and the riders themselves fight her tooth and horseshoe nail, Kate's greatest adversary is nineteen year old Sean Kendrick, four-time winner of the Scorpio Races, who is this year riding for the right to purchase his beloved capall uisce stallion, Corr, from his unscrupluous employer. Young hearts and old grudges are churned up with the sand, and who wins - and what winning is - becomes a test not only of swift hooves, but of the human spirit.

Author Maggie Stiefvater, creator of the bestselling Wolves of Mercy Falls series and Faerie tales, has unfurled a supernatural horse story as deep and as mesmerizing as the sea in The Scorpio Races. You can learn more about the book - and read an interview with Maggie about the inspiration for it - at her website, and IndieWire reports that Warner Brothers has purchased The Scorpio Races movie rights, so keep a weather eye out for capaill uisce on your own town theater's horizon!