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Children's books

Books for a horse mad 10yr old

31 replies

Nigglenaggle · 08/10/2013 12:28

Are the Saddle Club still 'cool' or am I behind the times?

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Leeds2 · 08/10/2013 13:58

Don't know about the Saddle Club, but Lauren Brooke does a series called something like Heartlands.

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EdithWeston · 08/10/2013 14:06

Try the retro reprints, from publishers like GGBP (Girls Gone By) for old favourites.

I've not used this bookseller but there are loads listed.

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cq · 08/10/2013 14:07

The Silver Brumby by E Mitchell. Captivating.

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Somethingyesterday · 08/10/2013 14:09

Have you tried the Josephine Pullein -Thompson books?

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ILoveAFullFridge · 08/10/2013 14:15

I remember some well-loved horsey books from my childhood: one was They Bought Her A Pony (about a spoilt little rich girl, who thinks she's the bees knees, and a family of kids who really are good riders - as well as eccentrics), and a pair of books whose titles I can't remember, but the main characters were 3 girls called Tamsin, Rissa, Lesley and a boy called Meredith, who ride horses, go camping, enter gymkhanas, foil criminals, and all the other normal things kids do in books.

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EdithWeston · 08/10/2013 14:18

I can't remember the titles, but the pony books with Tamsin were by Monica Edwards.

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Amandine29 · 08/10/2013 14:25

I have no idea if The Saddle Club is still cool but I loved it when I was a child. Also Christine Pullein-Thomas' Phantom Horse series. I knew a lady who lent me lots of horsey books from her childhood (probably 1950s) but unfortunately I can't remember many titles. I think there is a much greater choice with the older books and they have such wonderful stories. There's one in particular I am trying to recall. I read it constantly.

As well as novels I would recommend non-fiction books about horse care. My friends and I used to pore over these and invent quizzes and such like.

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Thurlow · 08/10/2013 14:30

Do they still sell The Black Stallion? I used to love them.

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PlumpkinPie · 08/10/2013 14:35

Not horse-y but animal themed stories that my animal loving ten year old loved: Running Wild, Butterfly Lion, War Horse, and others by Michael Morpurgo: really good stories. Very good on audiobooks too if some of them might be a bit advanced for your 10 year old.

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Merrylegs · 08/10/2013 14:43

KM Peyton's Fly by Night. (And then when she's a teenager she can graduate to Flambards).

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Merrylegs · 08/10/2013 14:45

(I should also mention Black Beauty, obviously).

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WiddleAndPuke · 08/10/2013 14:46

Oohhh I used to love the Jinny From Finmory ones, with the chestnut Arab, Shantih.

And the Jill books.

How about the Follyfoot ones?

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WiddleAndPuke · 08/10/2013 14:46

I mean obviously they're all a bit old now. Sigh.

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Nigglenaggle · 08/10/2013 15:03

Ooh fly by night looks good, might go for that thanks :)

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TheRedQueen · 08/10/2013 15:08

Flambards, perhaps?

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TheRedQueen · 08/10/2013 15:28

Diary of a Horse Mad Girl?
National Velvet?
Follyfoot?
Flicka?

(As you can see from my suggestions, I am rather old .....)

There is also a series by Usborne called, I think, The Pony Mad Princess, but I suspect your daughter might be too old for it.

One to perhaps look out for in the future is the German book/DVD "Ostwind" ("East Wind"). It's been a massive hit here and may well appear in translation at some time. It's about a girl and the relationship she develops with a horse whilst "grounded" at her grandmother's house.

On the DVD front, my daughter loves "Racing Stripes" which is about a zebra who thinks he's a race horse. Fun!

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ILoveAFullFridge · 08/10/2013 15:31

National Velvet - oh so very yes!

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WiddleAndPuke · 08/10/2013 15:31

Oh I remember Fly By Night!!! Loved it!

Might have to order a few of these.....

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WiddleAndPuke · 08/10/2013 15:32

Ooh there was one I read called I think Queen Rider.....that was good.

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BurberryQ · 08/10/2013 15:36

oooh yes National Velvet, fine writing...
daughter who is an avid reader and horse mad says that Heartlands is 'meh'
Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey is an excellent read, with horses as the 'backdrop'
All of the Follyfoot books and the World's End series (if they are still in print?)
Fly by night is excellent.
Actually dd's favourite read of the moment is 'Veterinary Notes for horse owners' Horace Hayes - she says 'how to take care of your horse in a nuclear attack' is irresistable.....

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BlueChampagne · 09/10/2013 13:42

Ruby Ferguson

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ILoveAFullFridge · 10/10/2013 07:43

Meryon! The boy's name was Meryon, not Meredith. ( I think there may have been a Roger, too.) And one of the books - my favourite one - was called The Midhight Horse.

It came to me out of the blue, just as I was waking up this morning Grin

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DeWe · 10/10/2013 13:15

The ones with Tamzin, Meryon, Rissa (really Clarissa) and Roger are by Monica Edwards and there are more than a couple of them. They're currently being republished by GGBP doesn't admit to having all, she's also got the Punchbowl series too, which is the ones with Lindsey in (and Andrea, Dion and Peter).

They're more adventures with ponies than pony stories. Wish for a Pony, is the first and the most pony like. they get less typical pony stories as the series progresses. A lot of them are set around environmental issues.

Ds loved "Storm Ahead" (Lifeboat disaster) and dd2 loved "Dolphin Summer" (Tamzin tames a dolphin).
My favourite is "White Riders" which is brilliant from both pony side and adventure side.

Recomment them highly, but if you get "A Wind is blowing" or "The Wild one" for less than £30 (unless GGBP has them still in print) I'll be amazed. Go for Wish for a Pony first, as it's the easiest to read.

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Nigglenaggle · 10/10/2013 21:05

Great suggestions guys thanks :)

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Nigglenaggle · 10/10/2013 21:06

I was thinking Saddle Club cos I used to have them, but there are better suggestions here I think

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