9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The greatest horse race of all time retold for young kids, June 14, 2004
This review is from: Seabiscuit vs War Admiral: The Greatest Horse Race in History (Hardcover)
On the front flap of "Seabiscuit vs War Admiral: The Greatest Horse Race in History" there is a note that this book for young readers "is based on a true story." Of course, everybody who has enjoyed Laura Hillenbrand's best selling novel or the Oscar nominated film directed by Gary Ross knows about the race and its outcome. With the story of Seabiscuit on the big screen and Smarty Jones almost pulling off the Triple Crown this year interest in horse racing in this country has been enjoyed more than it has in many a year.
My pet theory is that everybody falls in love with one special horse in their lifetime. For me it was Secretariat, and my favorite part of the Triple Crown each year is when they announce that the records for the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes are still held by Big Red. But I can imagine that for a lot of young kids that Seabiscuit could well be the horse of their dreams, just as "The Black Stallion" and the Pie from "National Velvet" were for earlier generations. It is also appropriate in these times that Seabiscuit was a real horse, even if he lived and raced a long time ago.
Told by Kat Shehata and illustrated by Jo McElwee, "Seabiscuit vs War Admiral" tells the story of the greatest horse race in history. On November 1, 1938 in the Pimlico Special at the famous racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, it was Seabiscuit, the underdog from the West, racing against the Triple Crown champion, War Admiral. The pastel illustrations on top and the text on the bottom are separated by a banner that recreates the call of the race by sportscaster Clem McCarthy. But the text goes back to the beginning to tell the story of Seabiscuit and it is not until the start of the race that the text catches up with the pictures. Shehata does a good job of capturing the main elements of the story as it relates to the film while providing some more specifics, both on why Seabiscuit was considered such as "funny" looking horse when he ran and the details of the race itself. McElwee also provides realistic drawings of owner Charles Howard, jockey "Red" Pollard, and trainer "Silent" Tom Smith.
Even if kids have not seen the movie before they read this book they can at least tell who they are supposed to be rooting for in this book. Seabiscuit's name is bigger than War Admiral's in the title, he is shown ahead in the cover illustration, and the focus on the book is clearly on the little horse from the West. "Seabiscuit vs War Admiral" actually does a lot to help teach young readers about the sport of horse racing. Before the story begins there is a map of Pmilico explaining the basic segments of the race, which was run over a distance of one mile and three sixteeths. The back of the book has an extensive glossary of dozens of Horse Racing Terms, from "backstretch" to "wire." Consequently, this book is ideal for kids who are interesting in finding out more about the Sport of Kings along with one of the great racehorses of all time.
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