I'll admit, I'm downright picky when it comes to evaluating horse books for children. Check out this article for my evaluation standards.
This is a sequel to Doty's book, Summer Pony. I couldn't find the original version of this book. From what I understand the text has been simplified in the more recent edition, although not drastically changed. Here's a comparison from an Amazon reviewer who had access to both books.
1975: "Hey, Mokey!" Ginny Anderson ran down the hill as she called cheerfully to her pony, a small bucket of hot mash swinging from one hand.
2008: "Hey Mokey!" Ginny Anderson ran down the hill. She called cheerfully to her pony. A small bucket of hot mash swung from her hand.
1975: Thorough the twilight Mokey whinnied in answer. Ginny could hear the sound of quick hoofbeats, and Mokey appeared in a blurred pattern of brown and white as she trotted up to the paddock gate.
2008: Mokey whinnied in answer. Ginny could hear her through the twilight. Ginny could also hear the sound of quick hoofbeats. She saw Mokey in a blurred pattern of brown and white. Mokey trotted up to the paddock gate.
1975: "Hi, Moke." Ginny stopped to give her pony a quick pat and then let herself into the small tack room in the stable, beside the paddock. She switched on the lights, unlatched the narrow door into the stall, and found Mokey waiting inside, peering into her feed tub as though waiting for her supper to appear like magic.
Ginny poured the sweet, hot mash into the tub, and Mokey plunged her muzzle deep into the swirling steam with a sigh of contentment.
2008: "Hi Moke." Ginny stopped to give her pony a quick pat. Then she let herself into the small tack room. It was in the stable, next to the paddock. She turned on the lights and unhooked the narrow door into the stall. Mokey was waiting inside. She was peering into her feed tub. She looked like she was waiting for her supper to appear like magic. Ginny poured the sweet hot mash into the tub. Mokey stuck her muzzle deep into the swirling steam with a sigh of joy.
The first part of the book deals with Ginny and Pam helping Michael train Mokey to harness. While accurate, which I approve, it's defintely not the most exciting stuff to read about.
The last part of the book revolves around the discovery that Mokey is in foal and ends after the birth of her colt. The amount of detail in this section didn't seem appropriate for the intended age range of the book, but maybe that's just me. Does a six-year-old need to know the details of breeding horses and the delivery of a foal?
She [Ginny] heard Michael's voice. It sounded as though it were coming from a long way off. But it was clear and quiet. "The foal doesn't seem to be in trouble yet. Neither does the mare. But what you're going to do now is just help things along a little. Somewhere along the way, the foal stops getting air through the umbilical cord. Right now he's between one world and the next. Take hold of his forelegs. Then pull when the next contraction comes." p. 111
In addition to being more detail than is probably needed for this age level, I would never interfere with the natural process of a foal's birth if there were no indications of trouble.
Ginny's parents, especially the father, are almost entirely absent in the story.
When Ginny is concerned about Mokey's health, the mother says, "Do you think it might be a good idea to ask the vet to have a look at her?" p. 76
That strikes me as peculiar and incredibly passive for an adult. Shouldn't an adult, who will be paying for the vet's visit, be in control of when a vet is needed?
In general, Ginny's friend Pam has a bad attitude toward adults and even toward her own pony.
Other than my own Sonrise Stable series, these two books, Summer and Winter Pony, have some of the most accurate horse details and interactions of any children's horse books I've read.
Does that alone make for interesting reading?
Not really. If done properly, unlike in an old Western movie, training a horse should be a dull experience. That's why a good horse book needs an interesting story line to go along with the horse parts.
In Winter Pony, Doty accurately describes the process for harness training a horse or pony, Mokey in this case. I also appreciate that the girls don't do the training themselves, but have the help of the adult caretaker, Michael, who states,
"You can't just throw a harness on a pony's back and drive it away. There's a lot more to it than that. It takes some time to break a pony to harness." p. 15
But, once the pony is trained, the girls, due to their disobedience, have an incredibly dangerous experience, in which both girls and the pony could have been killed. Pam encourages Ginny to take Mokey on the road with the sleigh.
Ginny hesistated, "I don't think Michael would let us," she said at last.
"Oh, who cares?" said Pam. "He's such a wet blanket. You know that. Don't do this, Miss Pam. Don't do that. Don't ride your poor pony today. He's got a little cough. Worry, worry, worry. That's all he does." p. 56
Ginny gives in and takes Mokey on the road. After they've gone a couple miles, they hear a snow plow approaching. The pony starts to freak out, rearing. If you've driven a horse before, you can imagine how badly this could have turned out, especially with a snow plow flinging snow everywhere. The driver might not have even seen the girls and pony until it was too late.
Of course, children disobey, but it's mostly in books that there are never any consequences for serious disobedience. The girls survive that incident with no injuries. Although Michael seems to know they've done something wrong, he doesn't confront them about it, and the girls never tell their parents.
There is nothing specifically Christian in the book.
I was surprised years ago when I received an email from a reader of my Sonrise Stable series who was concerned about the inclusion of the phrase "Oh rats!" in one of my books.
Obviously, people have different standards in terms of acceptable language. It had never occurred to me that someone would find that phrase offensive, but in a later revision of the book, I removed it.
But, I agree that words like "gosh" and "darn" are obvious euphemisms for offensive language, and I don't use them in my speech or writing.
They are unnecessarily sprinkled in Winter Pony, though. Just two examples:
Pam is told that the pony cart has been damaged and is unusable.
"Darn." Pam slumped down on a stool. p. 16
"Gosh, that stuff has a wonderful smell." p. 75
While the book has accurate horse information, there's not much of a storyline to it. As a result, I found Winter Pony fairly boring. In addition, you have the absence of the parents, Pam's bad attitude, the girls' disobedience with no confession or consequences, and too much detail (for the intended age range) about the foal's delivery. It's not a book I would recommend for kids. On a scale of 1 to 5, I'd give it a 2, strictly my opinion, of course.
Ruth Sanderson is an excellent equine artist. Her illustrations in the 2008 version are wonderful.
I liked Summer Pony by the same author much better than this book. See my review of Summer Pony. It's a mystery to me why she changed the characters so much in the sequel book.
Author: Jean Slaughter Doty
Originally Published: 1975
Current edition: 2008
Current Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Language: English
Paperback: 144 pages
ISBN: 9780375847103
Genre: fiction
Intended Reader: 6-9 years, grades: 1-4
Reviewer: Vicki Watson, Sonrise Stable Books
Review Date: 2024-06-11
