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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
Just wonderful and brought me back to my childhood. *Happy sigh*
I love this book. I have been reading it (and the rest of the series) for forty years now and I’m still in love with these stories and this horse.
I loved this book as a kid and still found it enjoyable as an adult.
Loved it in adulthood like I loved it as a child. Oh, Black! Horse of dreams.
Yes, the movie is better.
This was one I wore the covers off of as a kid, but haven't read in probably 30 years. Published in 1941, it's definitely a product of the times-- the Black is referred to as "savage" or similar SO MUCH, there's an It's-A Me, Mario-speaking Italian character, girls are non-existent except for Alec's mom, Alec starts the book sailing away from (I think?) being a missionary in India and departs from Bombay (now Mumbai), etc.
The plot, however, is fast and pure wish fulfillment-- a vicious untamed stallion on board Alec's ship home will only acknowledge him, a relationship fueled by sugar cubes. When the ship is struck by lighting (?) and sinks, the Black's trailing halter rope is Alec's life rope, towing them to safety on a deserted island, where eventually they learn to trust each other and, of course, run super fast all over the island. When rescued, the crew will of COURSE take on this unruly giant horse, and do it all for free, just because he's such a plucky kid. And then he just waltzes up to the neighbor and asks to use their barn, and the neighbor just happens to be a former champion horse trainer and jockey!
You know the rest-- a come-from-behind victory, dozens of books to follow, and a truly beautiful film directed by Carroll Ballard (the VHS of which I wore out as a child). I don't know if I'd recommend this book now to kids (seriously, poor Tony), but Alec really does live the horse girl dream.
This was one I wore the covers off of as a kid, but haven't read in probably 30 years. Published in 1941, it's definitely a product of the times-- the Black is referred to as "savage" or similar SO MUCH, there's an It's-A Me, Mario-speaking Italian character, girls are non-existent except for Alec's mom, Alec starts the book sailing away from (I think?) being a missionary in India and departs from Bombay (now Mumbai), etc.
The plot, however, is fast and pure wish fulfillment-- a vicious untamed stallion on board Alec's ship home will only acknowledge him, a relationship fueled by sugar cubes. When the ship is struck by lighting (?) and sinks, the Black's trailing halter rope is Alec's life rope, towing them to safety on a deserted island, where eventually they learn to trust each other and, of course, run super fast all over the island. When rescued, the crew will of COURSE take on this unruly giant horse, and do it all for free, just because he's such a plucky kid. And then he just waltzes up to the neighbor and asks to use their barn, and the neighbor just happens to be a former champion horse trainer and jockey!
You know the rest-- a come-from-behind victory, dozens of books to follow, and a truly beautiful film directed by Carroll Ballard (the VHS of which I wore out as a child). I don't know if I'd recommend this book now to kids (seriously, poor Tony), but Alec really does live the horse girl dream.
Monochromatic. Ok. Entertaining. Goes with Treasure Island, Hatchet, The King's Fifth, Island of the Blue Dolphins - old-timey, over-adventure.
I had to read this book for summer reading in elementary school and compose a book report on it. I remember trying so hard to finish it but I hated it.
A boy is shipwrecked with a horse, tames the horse, gets to keep it, trains it to race. There are a lot of lucky coincidences in this book which I found irritating. The writing itself is fine, and the story moves along nicely, but the plot is quite simplistic.
This was my favorite book as a kid... I probably read it over at least 5-6 times
I'm not sure I had ever read this whole book. I read it with my kids, as it showed up in the writing curriculum we use for homeschooling. It was better than i expected, with surprisingly few problematic elements for a book of its time (probably the worst was the way the dialect of an Italian-American merchant was rendered).