Everywhere Shadow looked, she saw danger. The other wild horses trotted happily through the moonlit bush, but Shadow was afraid.
Shadow had been born on a farm where she felt safe and secure. Then one day her mother pushed open a broken gate and took Shadow into the mountains, following the call of the brumbies. From then on, Shadow was always tense and worried.
Bonnie and Sam are best friends who share a mutual love of horses. Though neither has a horse of her own, they befriend all the local horses, and ride them whenever they can. When Sam’s dad, Bill, is given a horse to use for police work, Sam and Bonnie are excited, but the new horse, Drover, doesn’t let them ride her.
One night, the brumbies visit the town. Shadow, a brumby who looks just like Drover, jumps the fence into Drover’s paddock – and Drover jumps out and flees with the brumbies. The girls like the new Drover better than the old, but will she be able help Bill with the police work?
The Shadow Brumby is the first in a new chapter book series, Bonnie & Sam, for horse mad youngsters. With plenty of horsey action, and full colour illustrations by Roland Harvey, the series is sure to appeal to girls aged 7 to 10, and perhaps a little older.
Bonnie and Sam: The Shadow Brumby, by Alison Lester, illustrated by Roland Harvey
Allen & Unwin, 2007