Horse Stories

Little Horse by Betsy Cromer Byars  
Little horse falls into the stream and is swept away into dangerous adventures and a new life.  45 pgs.  (Also look for: Little Horse on His Own)

The Perfect Pony by Corinne Demas
Jamie has always wanted her own pony and is thrilled to see one advertised for free. Is this too good to be true?  47 pgs.

Beware the Mare by Jessie Haas   
Lily and her grandfather wonder why their new horse is named Beware.  64 pgs.  (Look for other titles by this author.)

HORSE SERIES TO ENJOY

Big Apple Barn by Kristin Earhart

Pony Tales by Bernadette Kelly

Horse Crazy by Alison Lester

J FICTION (Grades 3-6)

National Velvet by Enid Bagnold  
Fourteen-year-old Velvet Brown wins a horse in a raffle. She is determined to turn him into a champion and ride to victory in the world’s greatest steeplechase, the English Grand National.  265 pgs.  

The Best Horse Ever by Alice DeLaCroix
Abby is shocked that her best friend Devon is afraid of her new horse. Will she be able to manage both a horse and this friendship?  74 pgs.

Summer Pony by Jean Slaughter Doty
Ginny is thrilled when her parents rent her a pony for the summer. When the pony arrives half-starved, Ginny wonders if she can help her. 139 pgs.

The Black Stallion by Walter Farley   A  L
Shipwrecked on a desert island, Alec Ramsey finds and tames a wild Arabian stallion. After their rescue, they train for one of the great horse races at Santa Anita.   196 pgs.  (Look for other titles by this author.)

The Truth About Horses, Friends, & My Life as a Coward by Sarah P. Gibson
Sophie is afraid of her family’s three horses, and her schoolmates want to be her friend only so they can ride. Most of them leave once they find out that these horses are difficult. Will Sophie learn to enjoy riding?  146 pgs.

Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry   A  P  L  
Paul and his sister Maureen are determined to own a pony from the herd on Assateague Island, Virginia. When the Phantom and her colt are among those rounded up for the yearly auction, they desperately want the two ponies.  173 pgs.  (Look for other titles by this author.)

Mary Margaret Meets Her Match by Christine Kole MacLean
While on vacation at a dude ranch, Mary Margaret assumes that she’ll be an expert rider in a few days. Too bad her horse is stubborn and the riding instructor isn’t impressed! Will Mary Margaret ever make it out of the kiddie corral?  148 pgs.  (Look for other titles featuring Mary Margaret.)

Ellie Ever by Nancy Ruth Patterson
After her father is killed in a hurricane, Ellie and her mother move to a horse farm in Virginia. Her new classmates think she is a princess who lives in a mansion, so Ellie hides the fact that she lives in a small apartment and her mother works as an apprentice farrier.  117 pgs.

Willow King by Chris Platt 
Thirteen-year-old Katie saves a crippled foal from death and nurses him back to health. Will he be a racing champion?  193 pgs.  (Also look for: Willow King: Race the Wind)

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell   A eA L 
In this classic book, a horse tells the story of his life in nineteenth century England and his treatment under many different masters, both good and bad.  206 pgs.

Highway Robbery by Kate Thompson
In nineteenth century England, a young boy is asked to hold a black horse until her owner returns. Could the horse be Black Bess, the infamous Dick Turpin’s mount? Or is there a different sort of robbery going on?   118 pgs.

Beauty by Bill Wallace   
Eleven-year-old Luke is unhappy about moving to his grandfather’s farm after his parents separate, but he finds comfort in riding and caring for a horse named Beauty. 177 pgs.

HORSE SERIES TO ENJOY

Hoofbeats by Kathleen Duey    

Phantom Stallion by Terri Farley

Starlight by Janet Muirhead Hill   

Breyer Horse Collection by Annie Wedekind  

JH FICTION (Grades 6-8)

More Than a Horse by C. S. Adler   
When her mother takes a job on a guest ranch in Arizona, Leeann hopes to be able to ride whenever she wants. It takes perseverance and the help of new friends to win over the ranch’s crusty wrangler.  188 pgs.  (Look for other titles by this author.)

Chancey of the Maury River by Gigi Amateau
After being abandoned and partly losing his eyesight, Chancey, an albino appaloosa, finds a good home and is used as a therapy horse. This book is written from the horse’s point of view as Chancey tells his own story.  246 pgs.

No Small Thing by Natale Ghent   
Nat and his sisters find that owning, training, and caring for a pony they acquired for free makes it easier to cope with the poverty they have faced since their father abandoned them.  245 pgs.

Wild Girl by Patricia Reilly Giff   A
Twelve-year-old Lidie moves from sunny Brazil to New York City to join her father and brother on the Belmont racetrack. At the same time, a new filly called Wild Girl comes in for training. The story of both Lidie’s and Wild Girl’s adjustments to a new life is told in parallel chapters.  147 pgs.

Jim-Dandy by Hadley Irwin
Set after the Civil War on a Kansas homestead, thirteen-year-old Caleb raises a beloved colt and becomes involved in General Custer’s raids on the Cheyenne.   135 pgs.

The First Horse I See by Sally M. Keehn  
After her mother’s death, Willojean is left in the care of her beloved granddad. She tries to prove to her alcoholic father that she can train a skittish, abused ex-racehorse.  215 pgs.

Snow Pony by Alison Lester 
In the midst of family struggles, the only source of comfort that Dusty has is the friendship with her wild Australian horse, Snow Pony.  194 pgs.

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo   A
During WWI, Joey becomes a cavalry horse and experiences firsthand the horrors of war. Will he be reunited with his true master, the English farm boy who raised him?  165 pgs.

The Outside of a Horse: A Novel by Ginny Rorby
Hannah enjoys volunteering at a local stable and finds solace there when her father returns injured from the Iraq War. Could the therapeutic riding program at the stable help her father to heal emotionally?  343 pgs.

Paint the Wind by Pam Muñoz Ryan   A P
Orphaned eleven-year-old Maya moves from her over protective grandmother’s house to the freedom of a ranch in Wyoming. At the ranch, Maya finds a wild mustang mare separated from her herd and must work to gain the mare’s trust.  327 pgs.  (Look for other titles by this author.)

Firehorse by Diane Lee Wilson
Many fires occur in Boston in 1872. Could they be the work of an arsonist? And why are all the fire horses falling ill? Fifteen-year-old Rachel is determined to save a badly burned mare and to learn how to care for the other horses.  325 pgs. (Look for other titles by this author.)   

HORSE SERIES TO ENJOY

Chestnut Hill by Lauren Brooke

Heartland by Lauren Brooke    

Keystone Stables by Marsha Hubler      

Ridgeview Riding Club by Bernadette Kelly

revised 6/12 MSP

This list was prepared by the Youth Services Department of the St. Charles Public Library.
(630) 584-9390

Ask Youth Services! at St. Charles Public Library
      630-584-9390 or contact us online.