The Kingfisher Illustrated Horse and Pony Encyclopedia [Hardcover]

Sandy Ransford (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

The Kingfisher Illustrated Horse & Pony Encyclopedia is a fantastic gift for children who dream of having a horse or pony of their own. There is a clear introduction to the horse followed by chapters explaining horse and pony care, riding lessons, and breeds. The encyclopedia is packed full of gorgeous photographs of horses and ponies—showing how they look, what they do, and where in the world they are found. And of course every horse lover wants to ride, and The Kingfisher Illustrated Horse & Pony Encyclopedia takes the novice rider from first mount to cantering and galloping.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-8 - This comprehensive and beautifully illustrated volume provides a wonderful overview of horses and horsemanship. The first part of the book covers the life cycle, domestication, and types of horses and ponies. The many different breeds appear in striking full-color photos, often highlighted by comments about the standards that are important to that breed. The second part deals with how to care for these animals and discusses horsemanship from taking riding lessons to training and driving a horse. Procedures are explained with great detail and accuracy, and the illustrations effectively expand on the words. Hard hats are the rule in the photos even in the section on western riding, clearly emphasizing the importance of safety. Whether youngsters want to know how to braid a horse's mane, what the different types of concentrated food are, or what a Haflinger looks like, they will find the answer in this clearly written book. Filled with appealing photos of young people interacting with their four-legged friends, this title is an extremely useful addition to any collection. It covers the information found in both Elwyn Hartley Edwards's The Encyclopedia of the Horse (DK, 1994) and Bernadette Faurie's The Horse Riding and Care Handbook (Globe Pequot, 2000), but the many photos of the interaction between the young people and their horses make it particularly appealing. - Carol Schene, Taunton Public Schools, MA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Author Ransford is a full-time writer who has written more than 30 books for children. An expert horsewoman, she owns a horse and two ponies.

This volume has suggested grade levels of three through eight. The opening sections contain general information on horses and then describe various breeds--hotblood horses, coldblood horses, warmblood horses, and pony breeds. The remainder of the volume covers keeping, feeding, grooming, health care, and riding in chapters that are detailed and precise and convey the serious level of commitment necessary to all aspects of care and riding. The lavish color photographs, some of which are taken from the author's The Kingfisher Illustrated Encyclopedia of Horse and Pony Breeds (2003), are indispensable visual aids to descriptions of housing, saddling, mounting, and so on. Photographs of youngsters handling animals will appeal to the targeted age group. The text is supported by a clear table of contents, a glossary, and an index. Younger children may have difficulties with some of the text. Terms, such as gymkhana, are not defined in context, although they may appear in the glossary.

An attractive, thorough book such as this one should satisfy horse lovers. It is a good choice for both school and public libraries. Sharon E. Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Kingfisher (October 14, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0753457814
• ISBN-13: 978-0753457818
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #827,687 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book!, April 25, 2007

By 

mh - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Kingfisher Illustrated Horse and Pony Encyclopedia (Hardcover)

I found this book very readable with lots of beautiful pictures. It has sections on horse breeds(horses&ponies), horse's coloring/markings, grooming, traveling, trimming, stable management, feeding, health & caring for a sick horse, tack, it even has a section on riding(mostly eastern)and driving! This book only gives basic information with a reasonable amount of detail, I would reccommend this book for any horse lover of any age. If you plan on owning a horse someday and want a book on training your horse, this isn't the best choice. If you want to know what goes into caring for a horse I would reccomend this book. Again, it has wonderful pictures and is easy to read, I love it and have confidence you will too.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Horse Book, September 20, 2009

By 

A. Buker (MN, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Kingfisher Illustrated Horse and Pony Encyclopedia (Hardcover)

I purchsed this book for my oldest daughter. She's 7, and absolutely ADORES horses. She LOVES this book. I looked through it as well. It's very informative. Also, the pictures and digrams are very nice. Definately a good purchase in my opinion for anyone who enjoys horses!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book, December 30, 2009

By 

Lysa (Bellingham, WA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Kingfisher Illustrated Horse and Pony Encyclopedia (Hardcover)

My daughter got this for her 5th birthday in August and still looks at it everyday. She can't read yet but she loves the pictures and everyday copies sentences out of the book because she is doing her, so called, "horse homework". I'm learning a ton too.