Horses!

by Gail Gibbons

Overview

No other animal has captured people's imaginations or changed their lives as has the horse. Their grace, strength, and beauty have made horses sought after as well as useful. What would kings and queens, knights and conquistadores, cowboys and stagecoach drivers, or farmers have done without them? In this informative book, Gail Gibbons relates some of the long history that horses and humans have shared. She looks at horse biology and behavior and includes colorful, clear, and accessible diagrams.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823418756
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	09/01/2004
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	447,994
Product dimensions:	9.78(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.15(d)
Lexile:	660L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Gail Gibbons "has taught more preschoolers and early readers about the world than any other children's writer-illustrator," according to the Washington Post. Winner of the 2010 Regina Award, she has written and illustrated more than fifty books for Holiday House. She lives in Corinth, Vermont.

Editorial Reviews

K-Gr 3-Another quality nonfiction title from a veteran author. Gibbons presents an abundance of information about these "powerful, graceful, and majestic animals" in a pleasing and well-organized format. Using succinct and interesting language complemented by colorful and accurate illustrations, she describes the history of horses, their anatomy, how they communicate through sounds and body movement, care and grooming (including the wide range of tools needed to maintain a healthy coat), and different breeds. Finally, readers learn that horses "are good friends and companions." Thoroughbreds, Welsh ponies, Clydesdales, and many others are shown grazing and prancing across the pages, and the carefully placed captions define terminology and often clarify or add to the text. This book will definitely make the winner's circle.-Carol Schene, Taunton Public Schools, MA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

This latest from the overly prolific Gibbons reads like an encyclopedia article but looks even worse due to shockingly abysmal artwork. She covers a history of horses, the names of the parts of their bodies, a brief overview of their physical characteristics and activities, but includes many errors and oversimplifications--a crossbred horse does not necessarily, for example, have "at least one parent that is not a purebred." (Any horse descended from purebred horses of different breeds is a crossbred.) Hoof oil does not keep hooves from cracking. Grooming a horse does far more than make a horse "look beautiful." Gibbons's people always look plastic; here, her horses suffer a wide variety of physical maladies and joint deformations. Worse, all the horses look the same, yet are labeled as different breeds--a Holstein depicted as a smallish animal jumping, a Morgan and a Quarter Horse identical except for color, a yearling just like a Thoroughbred just like a Hackney. For proof that horse books can be accurately and invitingly illustrated with drawings, look to Margot Apple's Appaloosa to Zebra. For interesting horse books, look anywhere else. (Nonfiction. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews