I used to have one of the original hard bound versions of the books that was my grandmothers when SHE was a little girl, given to her by her mother. By the time I read it first as a little girl, the binding was so brittle that the individual pages were loose, & brittle themselves, like an ancient manuscript. I was only allowed to read it at the dining room table, so the book & the pages could be spread out on the tablecloth under a softer light. I can still remember the antique book smell of it, & as I read each page, I'd turn them over oh so carefully to get to the next part of the story.

Beauty, Ginger, Merrylegs, all became like old friends, & it was so sad to see all the sad things that happened over their lives. I cried when the Mistress had to sell them all because of her ill health & move, I cried when the drunk didn't take care of Beauty & his knees ended up a mess, I was sad for Ginger when a spoiled rich young man raced her till she broke down, but I was happy to see them together again in their paddock for a year.

When they both were sold as cab horses, Beauty to a kind man, & poor, long suffering Ginger to an abusive lout, I knew in my heart what was going to end up happening to her, but the mental image the original book painted of her in such horrible shape that the life had gone out of her eyes & she was suffering so much that even Beauty hoped she would die , & then when he saw the horse cart go by, & he recognized her body under the blankets, I cried again, & that was more than 30 years ago & I can still see it in my mind.

I was so thankful at the end, when as an older horse, Beauty ends up in the final care of the young groom he first knew in happier days, & would live the rest of his life there, loved & well cared for.

it's a book I would recommend for anyone, child or adult :)