This is a powerful story about a boy growing up due to his love for a horse. He goes from being a dreamer who gets lost for an hour at a time looking at a painting to someone who can look after his sick horse and do his chores, he becomes much more focussed.

When I found this book in a garage sale in Inverloch it was a must buy, it was first made into a movie in 1943 with the absolutely gorgeous Roddy Macdowell in the lead role of Ken (the boy), but I knew nothing of this until I heard it referenced in a radio comedy programme from the 1960s. It made me want to read the book, do I feel as if I need to follow it up with the other two books? No, not really. It’s nicely written and I’d suggest one that’s really important as it shows an American horse ranch with all its warts, with all its hardships and with some of its happiness but I’ve got so many other books on my To Be Read Pile that I’m just happy to have read this first book.

This book is the first in a trilogy and is her second book, she only wrote a few more after that but she was also an accomplished pianist and composer.

It’s available for sale at Booktopia, I’ve chosen the cheapest copy for you.