Black Beauty

Gr 1–3—This retelling joins several other picture book versions. It begins with a short foreword explaining the intent and impact of Sewell's work. Brown touches on major points from the original and maintains the horse's perspective. The story starts with Black Beauty following his mother's advice and trusting his instincts to save his stablemate, Ginger, from a fire and his master from a flooded bridge. In broad strokes, Brown covers the protagonist's life as a carriage horse, cab horse, and workhorse and concludes with the animal's reunion with his favorite groom. In keeping with the original, Black Beauty's cruel treatment is evident in the text and illustrations, but Brown omits gritty details, and the harsher aspects are balanced by happier times. The traditional, watercolor-style illustrations not only do justice to the narration but enliven it as well. The use of light and dark enhances the mood, and the artist gives her human and animal characters expressive faces. An afterword offers a quick overview of Sewell's life. VERDICT A good introduction to a classic, perfect for classroom reading and storytimes with older children. Pair it with Peter Parnall's Stuffer and Mônica Carnesi's Little Dog Lost for animal tales with happy endings. --Catherine Callegari, formerly at Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH

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"This retelling joins several other picture book versions. It begins with a short foreword explaining the intent and impact of Sewell's work. Brown touches on major points from the original and maintains the horse's perspective. The story starts with Black Beauty following his mother's advice and trusting his instincts to save his stablemate, Ginger, from a fire and his master from a flooded bridge. In broad strokes, Brown covers the protagonist's life as a carriage horse, cab horse, and workhorse and concludes with the animal's reunion with his favorite groom. In keeping with the original, Black Beauty's cruel treatment is evident in the text and illustrations, but Brown omits gritty details, and the harsher aspects are balanced by happier times. The traditional, watercolor-style illustrations not only do justice to the narration but enliven it as well. The use of light and dark enhances the mood, and the artist gives her human and animal characters expressive faces. An afterword offers a quick overview of Sewell's life. VERDICT: A good introduction to a classic, perfect for classroom reading and storytimes with older children. Pair it with Peter Parnall's Stuffer and Mônica Carnesi's Little Lost Dog for animal tales with happy endings."—School Library Journal