Old Thunder and Miss Raney

by Sharon Darrow, Kathryn Brown

"Raney, dear, not everyone can be a winner", says Beatrice Clover when Miss Raney and her plodding old horse, Thunder, once again fail to take a single prize at the Washita County Fair. This year, Raney is determined to present those judges with the finest stack of biscuits they'd ever hope to taste. She's certain she'll finally be a winner.Even when Raney's biscuits burn, her flour bin is empty, and her neighbors make fun of Old Thunder's slow gait; even when a tornado whirls her and her newly purchased bag of biscuit flour right off the ground -- no matter what, this determined heroine refuses to give up.

But sometimes help comes from unexpected places. When Raney loses yet again in the biscuit category, it's her ever-faithful friend, Old Thunder, his hooves light as wind-sifted flour, who carries them both to victory when he wins the plowhorse race and Miss Raney wins a blue ribbon for...best horse feed!

Told in a folksy, down-home voice and illustrated in lively, engaging watercolors, this spirited tale just goes to show that with a little luck, a lot of pluck, and a good friend, dreams can come true.

Genres: Picture Books, Historical Fiction, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2000

About the author

Sharon Darrow is the author of THE PAINTERS OF LEXIEVILLE and THROUGH THE TEMPESTS DARK AND WILD: A STORY OF MARY SHELLEY, CREATOR OF FRANKENSTEIN, illustrated by Angela Barrett. Sharon Darrow lives in Vermont.

Reviews

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

A girl, a horse, a fair, a tornado and a batch of biscuits - you'll just have to read the story to see how all of those pieces fall together!

Ages: 4 - 8

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[Emily Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute book and could teach kids that sometimes you win at what you least expect.

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too cute! I read this book to my four boys and they loved it! Especially the tornado! I loved it too. You had me at 'Fiddle dee dee!'

[Sherita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think Sharon Darrow did a fabulous job on the story of this book. This book focus on the fact that everyone can not be a winner, Rainey and her horse thunder was dying for a blur ribbion award. Each year they compeited in a town contest, but they never won. So this partiucular year Rainey was determined to win an award for her and her horse Thunder. Everyone in the town laughed and made several comments about Rainy dream; but that did not keep Rainey from staying focus and shooting for her ghoal. The story go through the several challenges that Rainey and Thunder went through to get a blue ribbion. Rainey decided to make biscuit this year and was determined that, that was what was going to get her blue ribbon award, but it did not quite work like that. None of judges really like Rainey's biscuit, but her good ol' horse thunder did. When Rainy would feed the biscuit to Thunder it would give him a boast of energy, that no one had every seen before. At the end of the story Rainey won the blue Ribbon award for best horse feeder. I really enjoy this story and living in the Southern area, where horses are important, and well talk about, I think children in my area would also like the story.

[Bec · Rating 5 out of 5]

Format: 32 pages. Approx. 1550 words. POV: First person, past.

First person narrative, this is the story of the implacable Miss Raney, determined this year to win a blue ribbon in the county fair for her biscuits. Complications arise when her first batch of biscuits burn in the oven and she finds she is out of flour. As she goes to town she meets all her rivals for blue ribbons who each recommends she turns back because of a big storm. Undaunted Miss Raney continues along, purchasing the flour she needs, then finding herself caught in a tornado that dumps her safely home. Just in time, she makes the lightest batch of biscuits ever, only to find that by the time she arrives at the fair someone else has won the prize for best biscuits. Miss Raney doesn't mourn her loss for long as she finds herself racing in the plowhorse competition on Old Thunder's back and winning, not only the race, but best horse feed. The twist to this tale of friendship and determination comes from the beloved biscuits she shares with Old Thunder.

Captivating use of first person and a good period feel to the language.

[Sarah Ballentine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great picture book to teach children that not everything will go as planned. It's good for teaching children to never give up. Even though things don't always go as planned, they may end up being better than expected.