I think it must be really hard to write good, solid books for kids who are transitioning from beginning readers to chapter books. The vocabulary can't be too challenging, but the story needs to be interesting enough to help new readers want to push through the awkwardness that can come with learning how to read. Plus, the book needs to look non-threatening - plenty of white space, maybe some pictures, but not too many. Really, it's kind of a tall order.

This is a good one to add to the list of solid "bridge" books that can help emergent readers build their reading skills and feel more comfortable with chapter books. It will hold special appeal to horse lovers, siblings who argue more than their parents would like, and kids who like to read books books about characters that could be like kids they know. I especially enjoyed the little bits where I got to read what Jigsaw the horse was thinking and feeling. It is probably not for readers who want a clear conflict or lots of action (which is what my kids want to read).

For myself as a reader, I would probably give this three stars. Solid like - liked the writing, liked the plot, liked the characters. But as a librarian, the usefulness of this kind of book compelled me to bump it up to four.