If a Horse Had Words

In her first book for children, Canadian author Cooper offers a tale of a foal and her boy that blends the scope of a novel with the grace of a poem. Born on a spring morning, the foal tries out her long legs and sinks into a badger hole, from which she's hauled out by a man and his freckled, cowboy-hatted companion: "If a horse had words," Cooper writes, in a phrase that serves as the story's title and leitmotif, "the word would be... boy." Boy and foal watch the seasons change contentedly together until one day, the boy tries to ride her, and she tosses him. She has to go, the man says, and, in a wrenching moment, she's auctioned off. But she meets the boy again in a triumphant moment that redeems their separation. Cooper's lilting voice dances through the story, while folk-naive watercolors by Eldridge, in her picture-book debut, capture the foal's lovely lines. Readers drawn to stories about the unbreakable bonds between children and animals will remember this one. Ages 4-8. (June)

K-Gr 3—When the foal is born she takes in her surroundings. As she stands for the first time, her back legs are stuck in a muddy hole, but a young boy and his dad come to help her free; still, she's forever fearful of the ground. As she grows into a horse, she has many experiences with the boy, running and jumping, and watching the seasons pass. Eventually, readers learn her name, Red Badger, and in her dislike of the ground, she accidentally bucks the boy off her back. His dad decides to sell Red Badger and she ends up at the rodeo. The boy, now older, arrives to ride at the rodeo. They recognize each other and their reunion brings them both incredible joy. This book is written in a poetic and lyrical manner, from the perspective of the horse. The watercolor illustrations give the book a dreamy quality, which fits perfectly with the text. VERDICT A solid and engaging choice for horse lovers or anyone who has ever bonded with an animal.—Shana Shea, Windsor Public Library, CT