A Kingdom in a Horse

by Maia Wojciechowska

David Lee is twelve years old and disappointed in his father Earl, a once-famous rodeo clown who has quit the circuit and moved David to a small town in Vermont to start a new life. David has a hard time adjusting to life as a "normal" boy and is hurt that his father never allowed him the chance to be his partner in the rodeo arena. When Earl tries to buy David a horse at auction, David pretends to have no interest in it, and the horse is sold, instead, to a seventy-year-old woman named Sarah Tierney.
Sarah, grief-stricken at the death of her husband, tries to find solace in her new horse, Gypsy, but she needs help from Earl and David to learn how to care for her. As the three of them spend more and more time with Gypsy, they all become entranced "in their own ways" by the horse and begin to learn more and more about themselves. A heartfelt story, this middle-reader novel is a must read for any girl or boy interested in nature and horses. Ages 9-12."

Genres: Animals, Childrens, Horses

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

Maia Wojciechowska was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1927, and later lived in France and England. Eventually, her family moved to the United States.

A writer of books for young readers, in 1964 Maia Wojciechowska wrote the book "Shadow of a Bull", which was named the Newbery Medal winner in 1965.

In 2002 she died of a stroke in Long Beach, New Jersey. She was seventy-four years old.

Reviews

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a magnificent horse story and was one of my favorite paperbacks in my late-lamented horse book collection. One day I need to get around to replacing my lost copy. The cover looked like this:



This is much more than just a "kid and a horse" book. It's one of the few books in this genre that features an elderly woman as one of the two main characters. The book goes back and forth between the old woman and the young boy. It made getting old look not that bad.

There's also some glorification (or whatever) of rodeo here. I'm not into rodeo because I think some of the events (like steer wrestling) are cruel, but it didn't bother me too much here. But I thought I'd better give a heads-up for those who can't stand rodeo.

[Renata Shura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought it a bit trite and unrealistic all around. Altogether, a disappointment...

[Janet Abbott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good kids book!

[Lila · Rating 5 out of 5]

my daughter's book.