Rereading: MELODY, MUTTON BONE, AND SAM by Lavinia R. Davis

Davis wrote some of the best stories about kids and horses, and the ones illustrated with open line drawings by Paul Brown are the best of the best.

Sam Hilton lives with his family in a rural area, probably in New Jersey, where many have horses, and Sam has Mutton Bone, an older horse that he loves, and who loves him. Mutton Bone gets tired easily, and his running days are mostly past him, but they have fun together. Sam’s friend Judy has a pony, Cream Puff, he meets a new boy, Bingo, who has a horse he needs help with, and not far away is Sam’s friend Hoofbeats, an Irishman with a small farm who rents out his few horses to riders. When Sam visits him, Hoofbeats is sad because he’s going to have to move, as his landlord is selling the property, and he hasn’t found anywhere else he can afford. Later, Sam, his brother Tennant, Bingo, and Judy have an idea. They’ll fix up an old shed at the far end of their property for Hoofbeats to use as his stable, but keep it a secret to surprise him. Meanwhile, a new neighbor, Miss Sedgewick, has just moved into the farm next door with three horses, one of them a fiery show horse. Before long, Sam and his friends are swept into some mysteries about Mrs. Sedgewick concerning her background and who might be spying on her and them. Meanwhile, they’re working on the shed and raising money for supplies by giving pony rides for kids’ birthdays. And then there’s the big horse show coming up soon.

An excellent read if you like this type of story, recommended.

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