Pony themed books for 10 year old DD

[PerverseConverse]

Hi, my soon to be 10 year old has just got a glowing report from school which I'm really pleased about. One area she's not so hot on though is reading. She can read fine, is up to standard, comprehension fine etc but her reading isn't as strong as everything else. I'm a big reader as are our whole family really but she finds books "boring." She does read daily and always reads before bed but the love isn't there. She doesn't get wrapped up in the stories and imagine them in her head as scenes. She prefers factual books to stories unless she's being read to. She's pony mad and I'm hoping to find her some horse based novels to get stuck into. Can anyone suggest any please? I've bought her a factual horse book for Christmas which she asked for but I really want to encourage her to curl up with a book and get totally absorbed in the stories like I do. I feel so sad she doesn't have that experience but I know everyone is different.

Oh god when I was a kid there were millions. Have a look on eBay for pony books. The Pullein-Thompson sisters wrote loads. The Jill Books by Ruby someone or the other were my absolute favourite. So many books! Might buy them again on my Kindle

The Saddle Club books.

Would she like black beauty..... schools always seem to recommend the classics I think 🤷🏻‍♀️.

KM Peyton
Silver Brumby - Elyne Mitchell
My Friend Flika - Mary O'Hare
National Velvet

www.janebadgerbooks.co.uk/ponybooks.html

This might help. There's a Facebook group where you can buy them fairly cheaply.

My faves were the Jill series (set in the 50s iirc but so lovely) and the Ginny series (set in Scotland and awesome.)

The Princess and the foal by Stacey gregg - fascinating gripping based on a true story, dd loved it, also the Pony Club Secrets series also by Stacey gregg
The Pony Detectives novels
The Pony Club Diaries by Kelly mcain, Megan and mischief was one, I think there are loads

My DD is obsessed with Free Rein on Netfliks. Story about an American teenager falling in live with a horse whilst visiting her English grandfather. They have just released two paperbacks based on the series

Monica Edwards also wrote books with ponies. 'Wish for a Pony' was the first. The characters do age over the course of the series, and have boyfriends and girlfriends in the later books, so best to start with the earlier ones.

The Monica Edwards books were my favourite but they are terribly dated.

Somebody already mentioned them but most definitely The Saddle Club. Brilliant books

Plessis beat me to it! Came on specifically to recommend The Princess and the Foal.

My completely non-horsey 10 year old DD absolutely loves it and has read it multiple times. It's based on a real life story so might be a good compromise for your DD?

The Jill books Eden written by Ruby Ferguson - would absolutely recommend these, along with the Pullein-Thompson sisters’ books.

There are gazillions and I loved them as a child but my all time fave is My Friend Flicka which is the first in a trilogy with Thunderhead and Green Grass of Wyoming.

These were my favourite as a kid! Jinny at finmory series is great, the author also wrote other pony stories so worth looking up. Also the saddle club series were another favourite.

Were, not Eden! iPad is having a senior moment.

Hope she is able to find some she enjoys. Nothing better than getting stuck in to a good book.

The saddle club series
Ginny series
Pony club rivals
One dollar horse - Lauren At John
80 dollar champion (a biography type but tells story of training a horse in a really lovely way)
Little Alf (possibly a bit young for her but enjoyable )
Showjumping Dreams series

All of the above but also the Red Pony by John Steinbeck

Saddle Club definitely.

The Jill stories are also great, not sure what age for though, think I was a little older than 10 when I started to enjoy them.

The Monica Edwards books were my favourite but they are terribly dated.

No more so than some of the other recommendations, such as the Jill books and the Pullein Thompsons, surely.

Oh definitely Jill, I loved those and so did my DD. They might be old now but DD still enjoyed them just over a decade ago.

Monica Edwards are my favourites. If she likes pony stories start her on Wish for a Pony, not my favourite, but perhaps the most pony like one. Then Midnight Horse and No Mistaking Corker (second one is a different series). White Riders is my favourite story, but by that point in the series they're less of pony stories and more of adventure etc.
I don't think of them as terribly dated. Ds loves them, although his favourites are not very pony (Storm Ahead is probably his favourite).

I also used to find Pat Smythe's 3 Jay books very funny. They're very much pony stories, but are definitely dates. Three Jays lend a hand was the first one I read and it's good as a pony book and full of good humour. Basic story is one of the Jays (Jackie, Jane and Jimmy, if I remember rightly) has a cousin who hates horses and he's left an inheritance if he can train up and ride a horse to win a certain race.

Heartland!

I was a pony mad 10 year old once!

I would stay clear of the Jill books...mum is skint but she can afford a pony...then 2 ponies. I think the 5th book may have been called "Jill has shit loads of ponies, are you jealous enough yet?!"

I would recommend the Follyfoot books and the Wonder books. I think the first was "a horse called wonder" good stories as well as being horse based

The Jinny series - they are amazing, beautiful books and I actually cried when I learned that the author had passed away! They've all been reprinted but I adore the early 80's cover with the Arab stallion Prince of Orange on the front

I would be recommending The Saddle Club books as well. I LOVED those when I was young.

I don't know if you can access it in the UK, but CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) has a show called "Heartland". It's based on a series of novels. It's about a girl whose mother was very skilled at working with horses who had emotional problems. The mother was killed in an accident while rescuing a horse. The stories are about the daughter's healing and her family's future adventures.

Even if you can't access the TV show, you might still be able to find the novels.