Are You A Horse? [Hardcover]

Andy Rash (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2009 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

For young cowboys and little scientists, an ARE YOU MY MOTHER? for the 21st century!

For his birthday, Roy's freinds give him a saddle and some very specific instructions:
1. Find a horse.
2. Enjoy the ride!

But there's a problem; Roy doesn't know what a horse IS! So he sets off to find out with hilarious results: A snake tells him to look for a creature with legs. A crab has six legs, but he's too unfriendly to be a horse. A chameleon smiles at Roy, but horses don't change color... What's a horseless cowboy to do?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3—This humorous picture book requires a total suspension of disbelief. The premise that a man wearing Western clothing and sitting in a saloon does not know what to do with a saddle he receives for his birthday is delightfully silly. The instructions that accompany the gift advise him to "1. Find a horse 2. Enjoy the ride." However, the man does not know what a horse is so he asks a red wagon, "Are you a horse?" "'Nope, I'm an old wagon,' said the wagon. 'A horse is a living thing.'" He asks a cactus the same question, and it replies, "I bristle at the thought! I'm a cactus. A horse is an animal." Then he queries various animals absurdly found in the same habitat: a snake, a crab, a lion, and a zebra. The crab declares, "I'll pinch you good! A horse is friendly. I'm a crab! NOW GO AWAY!" The conclusion delivers a big chuckle. The gouache and India ink illustrations are comical and colorful, and the cartoon expressions capture the burlesque nature of the story. There are some clever visual interpretations. One series of six panels conveys the lengthy passage of time that it takes for a sloth to give his answer. A goofy giggle-inducing read-aloud.—Kirsten Cutler, Sonoma County Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

When cowboy Roy is given a saddle for his birthday, he can’t wait to try it out. Right after he figures out what it’s for. Luckily, it comes with instructions (“1. Find a horse. 2. Enjoy the ride”), but unluckily, Roy doesn’t know what a horse is. So he saunters about asking each creature he meets if it’s a horse. They all tell him why they’re not: horses have legs, explains the snake; a horse is friendly, explains the many-legged crab; a horse can’t change colors, says the friendly chameleon. Roy is just about out of questions when he finally finds something that fits all the requirements, and a horse it turns out to be. The western-styled gouache art is packed with colors and peppered with lighthearted jokes. Much of the visual fun comes from the way each animal has the characteristic Roy has just learned about from the previous encounter, while the text effectively uses negation to keep him looking. Kids will enjoy knowing more than the hapless Roy with the final page showing an extremely unexpected horsy ride. Preschool-Grade 2. --Ian Chipman

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books (March 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439724171
• ISBN-13: 978-0439724173
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 10.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #67,203 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Andy Rash was born on a mountain top in Tennessee, educated in the swamps of Georgia and the canyons of New York, and lives with his wife and son in the wilds of Brooklyn. He has illustrated for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time, Entertainment Weekly and The New Yorker. He writes and illustrates children's books.

Are You A Horse has been nominated for a Missouri Building Block Award, a Washington Children's choice Award, has been adapted to DVD by Nutmeg Media, and soon will be featured in an episode of BBC Bedtime Stories.

Agent A to Agent Z was awarded a Parent's Choice Silver Honor, an Amazon Editor's Choice Award, a Brown County Book Award (Indiana), a Starred Review in Publisher's Weekly and was nominated for a Washington Children's picture Book Award. It has been adapted by Peaceable Kingdom into a Game Time Activity Tote. It is currently in development for animated television.

Ten Little Zombies: A Love Story has been optioned for a short animated film, and Superhero School has been optioned for animated television as well!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Group time Read!, May 30, 2009

By 

Karona Drummond "Author of Along Came You" (Denton, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Are You A Horse? (Hardcover)

When I first picked this book up off the shelf, I thought "Wow! What Fun!"
This story begs to be read out loud with all the feeling that is written into it. It reminds me of the P.D. Eastman classic, "Are You my Mother?", but with a fun new twist.

I performed this story at a book event recently. The kids listened intently as I did the voices of the animals. And the surprise ending got them giggling!

This is definitely a book to have in your collection to read aloud to your own kids or a whole roomful of kids!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read-aloud book, March 28, 2009

By 

Arleen (Fayetteville, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Are You A Horse? (Hardcover)

Make sure you are reading aloud the first time you read the story! You get lots of opportunities to do your animal voice imitations, and the ending made me laugh more than any children's book has in a long time. I'm not sure why the SLJ (School Library Journal) review only gives this book three stars. (Maybe the review was imported from an outside source and the book was automatically given a neutral rating?) This is definitely a "Read it again, Mommy!" book!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Silly fun! (and a science lesson), May 3, 2010

By 

M. Fuka "K-12 Librarian" (North Dakota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Are You A Horse? (Hardcover)

a great intro for younger kids on classification! all things to just living things to animal and on we go to find our horse. What we do with him is a surprise!