Pine Valley Ponies: The Runaway Foal by Kate Welshman, ill Heath McKenzie

Autumn had arrived at Pomona Orchard, where Maddy Sharpe and her family lived. The days were getting shorter and darker and the leaves on the peach trees were turning brown and drifting to the ground. Maddy had noticed that other things were changing, too, like her pony’s coat. A few days ago, Snowy’s coat had been short and smooth. Now it was as long and thick as a woolly mammoth’s.

Autumn had arrived at Pomona Orchard, where Maddy Sharpe and her family lived. The days were getting shorter and darker and the leaves on the peach trees were turning brown and drifting to the ground. Maddy had noticed that other things were changing, too, like her pony’s coat. A few days ago, Snowy’s coat had been short and smooth. Now it was as long and thick as a woolly mammoth’s.

Maddy loves her pony, Snowy. She loves learning to ride and everything to do with having a pony, even though it can be a lot of work. She particularly loves her weekly riding lesson at Pine Valley Ranch. She wonders if she’ll ever be as good as her friend Iris Digby. But Alita Jessup is harder to love. Alita is a show-off in class, with her fancy gear and her shiny boots. She is sure she knows better than their teacher, Pattie, and often disrupts the class with her comments and behaviour. This week, six foals are to be weaned, separated from their mothers, and everything needs to be calm and in control around the ranch. But one of the foals, Sunny, isn’t quite ready to be separated from her mum. Each page has a border featuring riding essentials, and black and white illustrations are scattered throughout. Cover art is in pink and shiny purple. Throughout the text, some words are picked out in larger font and bold.

‘Pine Valley Ponies’ is a new series from Scholastic, aimed fairly and squarely at horse-obsessed girls. Whether they have their own pony, or they wish they do, they’ll be able to discover the joys, challenges and responsibilities of horse ownership. Maddy admits to anxieties about each new stage of learning to ride well, while being keen to discover more. She explores friendship and struggles to understand the attitudes of show-off Alita who doesn’t always seem to have her pony’s best interests at heart. She watches others and tries to emulate them, but also displays empathy and bravery when they are necessary. Recommended for newly independent readers, particularly horse-mad girls.

Pine Valley Ponies: The Runaway Foal , Kate Welshman ill Heath McKenzie Scholastic 2015 ISBN: 9781743624319

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

Pine Valley Ponies: The Forbidden Trail by Kate Welshman ill Heath McKenzie

Maddy looked down at her pony’s mane as they walked along dusty McClymont’s Road. It was the whitest mane she’d ever seen.

‘That purple shampoo really worked, Snowy,’ she told her pony.

Snowy’s ears flicked back an dhe tossed his head.

Maddy giggled. ‘What’s wrong? You didn’t like it?’

Maddy looked down at her pony’s mane as they walked along dusty McClymont’s Road. It was the whitest mane she’d ever seen.

‘That purple shampoo really worked, Snowy,’ she told her pony.

Snowy’s ears flicked back an dhe tossed his head.

Maddy giggled. ‘What’s wrong? You didn’t like it?’

As Maddy’s little brother says, Maddy has everything she ever wanted: a pony for her birthday and riding lessons for Christmas. Even though he’s an annoying little brother, even Maddy has to admit he’s right. But although she loves Snowy, her pony, she’s finding her first riding lesson hard. For lots of reasons. One: another rider in her class, Alita, seems determined to attack Maddy’s riding, her riding gear and her care of Snowy. Two: her mother used to ride here and Maddy’s sure she’ll never measure up and three: the riding lesson is much more difficult than she imagined. Then there’s the ‘forbidden trail’. Each page features a border of riding gear, and black and white illustrations are scattered throughout, breaking up the text. Cover art features a heart containing the series title and is pink and shiny purple.

Pine Valley Ponies: The Forbidden Trail is the first in a new series of chapter books from Scholastic, designed to appeal to young horse-loving girls. Horsey language is threaded through the adventure as are care and riding tips. Themes include friendship, bravery, resilience and more. Maddy makes a new friend in Iris, and also notices that the troublesome and superior Alita isn’t as confident as her fancy clothes and beautiful horse would suggest. She might have all the financial advantages, but her life isn’t without its trials. Maddy is a grounded and empathetic character, even when she’s approaching new challenges with trepidation. Recommended for newly independent readers and horse-mad girls.

Pine Valley Ponies: The Forbidden Trail , Kate Welshman ill Heath McKenzie
Scholastic 2015
ISBN: 9781743624302

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

Posse, by Kate Welshman

‘Let’s give her some more time,’ she says. ‘I can see this all blowing up into something it isn’t. If we just give her some time to get over it…’ She rubs her neck and frowns. ‘We don’t want any of this stuff about Bevan to get out. We’ll all be in trouble. They’ve already got their hands on Deborah’s pictures.’ She squats beside Patricia. ‘You’ve got to stop this, Patricia. They’re going to know something’s up. Get a bloody grip.’

Amy and her classmates are on school camp and they are hot. The temperature is soaring, and tempers are frazzled. In particular, things are tense between Amy and her best friend Clare. The handsome camp leader Bevan is singling Amy out for attention, but it is Clare who has the hots for him. Amy, quite honestly, isn’t interested in men – she’s a lesbian.

But after yet another fight, Amy visits Bevan in his hut, and things quickly turn serious. Soon, Clare has disappeared and Amy and their other friends are left not sure what is going on or who to turn to. In the aftermath of the night, friendships are strained, adults and teens alike reveal their true colours, and Amy must learn to examine her motives and her real feelings.

Posse is a YA novel with bite. Amy is a lesbian who is open about and comfortable with her sexuality . She comes from a broken home, with her mother and grandmother both with issues about men and about reality. She hasn’t seen her father for five years, and resents his perceived abandonment of her. Her friendship circle – or Posse – is made up of intelligent, witty individuals who are each very different. The issues she must confront in Posse include friendship, family and honesty, in a package which will challenge readers.

Recommended for older teens.

Posse

Posse, by Kate Welshman
Random House, 2009

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