Friday, May 20, 2011

The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble

Goble, P.  (1978).  The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses.  Bradbury Press.  Unpaged.

What is so special about wild horses?  Can a girl's friendship with horses be enough to help her get over her illness?

A young, Native American girl has a very special kinship with wild horses.  This special bond with the horses takes her through a journey, and at the end of it she becomes one with them.  While looking after the village horses, a thunderstorm takes her away to a place that is unknown to her but is ruled by a mighty spotted stallion that develops a kinship with her over a year’s time.  The young girl, who was lost, is found by her tribe and goes with her tribe, only to become sick.  After a while she returns to the wild horses and gets better.  She later becomes a part of them.  Five- through eight-year-old children would enjoy this book, but reading it with an adult would benefit them because someone would be there to help them understand the story.  The simple but colorful illustrations complement each page of the text.  The book shows children that they could develop a close connection with animals and nature, and they might develop a deeper sense of respect for nature.  The title refers to the main character in the book, the girl who loved wild horses and how it's about her and what happens to her.

This book is a Caldecott Medal winner.  Learn about Paul Goble by visiting http://www.worldwisdom.com/public/authors/Paul-Goble.aspx.  He also wrote and illustrated The Woman Who Lived with Wolves and Other Stories from the Tipi, The Earth Made New:  Plains Indians Stories of Creation, and All Our Relatives:  Traditional Native American Thoughts About Nature.














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