Customer Reviews

Summer Pony (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Warning to those who are purchasing this book, (or the sequel Winter Pony), thinking that it is the original text....it isn't! It has been adapted for a younger reader, though that fact is not noted anywhere. Below is a comparison of the first couple of paragraphs of both editions, read, and BUYER BEWARE. If you want the originals, you'll have to get used hardcovers or the Scholastic paperbacks.

I find it utterly disgraceful that Random House has issued these books in altered form without ever so stating.

Summer Pony 2008

It was a gloomy gray day in March. A threat of late snow was in the air when the station wagon bumped to a stop by the shabby barn.

Ginny was shivering. She got out of the car and waited for her mother. Somehow, everything here seemed awful and unreal. This was the day her dreams were supposed to come true. She was going to have a pony, a pony of her own, for the whole summer ahead.

Plans had already been made with the owner of the Sweetbriar Pony Farm. She could choose any one of all the ponies in his stable. But something was wrong. They must have made a wrong turn off the main road. Nobody could keep ponies in a place like this.

She could feel the cold mud oozing through her sneakers. Her mother came up beside her. She wore a hopeful look on her face. She was trying to make the best of a bad situation. "Here we are, dear. I wonder where Mr. Dobbs can be?"

Summer Pony 1973

It was a miserable gray day in March, with a threat of late snow in the air, when the station wagon bumped to a stop by the shabby barn.

Ginny was shivering as she got out of the car and waited for her mother. Somehow, everything here seemed unpleasant and unreal. This was the day her dreams were supposed to come true. She was to have a pony, a pony of her own, for the whole summer ahead. Arrangements had already been made with the owner of the Sweetbriar Pony Farm for her to choose any one of all the ponies in his stable. But something was wrong. They must have made a wrong turn off the main road. Nobody could keep ponies in a place like this.

She could feel the cold mud oozing through her sneakers. Her mother came up beside her. She wore her let's-make-the-best-of-an-unpleasant-situation look on her face. "Here we are, dear. I wonder where Mr. Dobbs can be?"

This book is by far one of the best stories I've ever read about horses and horse care. I have my own copy and read it over and over as a child, and have even read it several times since as an adult. I have since experienced what the heroine, Ginny, experienced in my own life--owning a blue-eyed, spotted mare of my own from a man who didn't take good care of his horses. It was wonderful to experience in my life exactly what Ginny experienced. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a young girl in their life who is horse crazy--she'll learn valuable lessons about horse care, riding with a helmet, and how to show. Very accurate and well-written for being an older book. May we all find our special Mokey!

Bought this for my six year old daughter. She read and thoroughly enjoyed this story and it's companion, "The Winter Pony".

I loved to check this book out of my school library when I was a child. I was excited to be able to buy it from Amazon, so now I can share it with my daughter. Any young girl who has ever dreamed of owning her own horse will enjoy the story of Ginny and her summmer pony, Mokey. It also subtlely contains lessons about inner beauty and that sometimes dreams do come true.

a good book to read oer and over for the heart as well as life with a horse. THis book has well written text and a beautifufl cover. Not overwhelmed with details of the environment or the emotions of the characters, the reader can easily relate to what the characters are feeling and how they build a bond with their horses. I really likfe the barn set up and the way human relationships there are presented by the author. My Appaloosa: A Journal for Anyone Interested in Understanding Horses with bonus insert on painting and drawing horses

Book arrived in condition described and in a timely manner. Very pleased all around. Thank you!