Wild Horse Summer [Hardcover]

Hope Ryden (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Alison spends her thirteenth summer on a ranch in Wyoming where she learns to ride a horse and where Kelly, her cousin, who is blind, helps her overcome an old fear.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6. Twelve-year-old Alison has mixed feelings about leaving Chicago to spend her summer in Wyoming with her blind cousin, Kelly. Because she is afraid of heights and flying, Alison travels by train. She is warmly welcomed by everyone at her aunt and uncle's ranch, and in spite of some misgivings, eventually learns to ride. The wild mustangs that roam the mountains help to make her summer a truly adventurous one and so does Matt, a handsome neighbor. Her confidence grows as she puts aside her fear of heights to try to save Kelly's horse from a wild stallion. When summer is over, she chooses to fly home and can't wait to return to the ranch next year. The author has effectively woven interesting information about wild horses throughout the story. However, although the plot moves along at a steady pace, this is not a real page-turner. The sympathetic human characters are only mildly interesting; the actions and personalities of the horses provide the real drama. Full-page, black-and-white drawings appear throughout. Fans of equine stories will find this a pleasant, though not unforgettable, read.?Carol Schene, Taunton Public Schools, MA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 5^-8. Alison has no desire to leave Chicago to spend the summer on the Wyoming ranch where her mother grew up. She is turning 13 and wants to celebrate with family and friends, not her aunt, uncle, and cousins, whom she doesn't even know. She's also afraid she'll be trapped into watching out for her cousin Kelly, who is blind. But her biggest concern is her extreme fear of heights. Much as she likes horses, the thought of getting on one nauseates her. But over the course of the summer, she confronts the obstacles she faces in both predictable and unpredictable ways, eventually ending up with the magical vacation she had hoped for. The dialogue is weak and the characters stereotypical, but Ryden, well-known for nonfiction books about nature, lets her knowledge of horses shine through and succeeds in creating a fast-paced adventure that won't disappoint horse lovers. Lauren Peterson

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books (September 22, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395775191
• ISBN-13: 978-0395775196
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,189,404 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book about a city girl out west..., October 17, 2000

By 

Melanie (Iowa, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wild Horse Summer (Hardcover)

Wild Horse Summer was a great book, that had a basic, but good story line, and it taught a lot about horses and ranch life.

Alison, almost 13, leaves her parents in Chicago to spend the summer with her aunt, uncle, and cousins in Wyoming. There are some things upsetting her, though - she's afraid of horses, and her cousin Kelly is blind. Alison doesn't want to babysit a blind girl all summer!

However, once at the ranch, Alison grows to love it. Her patient uncle teaches her how to ride, Kelly is a great friend, and her cute cousin Bill has a cute friend! When everything is going well, however, disaster strikes...

This was a really great book, and I'd recommend it for ages 11 - 14, to anyone who likes horses, the west, or just a good read!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I LOVE THIS BOOK!, April 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Wild Horse Summer (Paperback)

This is one of the best horse books ever! It's about a girl, named Alison who comes to visit her blind cousin Kelly's ranch. Alison is afraid she will have to spend her whole time looking out for Kelly, but the exact opposite happens! When Kelly's trained seeing eye horse Cookie gets stolen by a wild stallion, will Alison be brave enough to face her fear of heights and go up the moutain to get Cookie back? Read this great book to find out!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book, January 11, 2002

By 

"jodykaye" (CO, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wild Horse Summer (Paperback)

Wild horse summer is a great book.
Alison goes to her Aunt & Uncles ranch for the summer.At first she thinks she will be stuck helping her blind cousin all summer but she soon finds out it is her cousin who is helping her.

When Alison's cousins special horse gets kiddnapped it's up to Alison to get her back. She has to overcome her fears or risk disapointing her cousin.