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The Midnight Horse
On a coach bound for Cricklewood, the orphan boy Touch caught his first glimpse of the haunt named The Great Chaffalo. According to rumor, he was once a famous magician who could turn a pile of straw into a horse. Now, Touch needs the ghost's help in order to escape his wicked great-uncle. So, with an armload of straw and a determined spirit, Touch makes his plea to The Great Chaffalo -- and, magically, a horse appears!But can magic save Touch when his great-uncle’s schemes grow even more villainous?
Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
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About the author
Sid Fleischman
102 books149 followersAs a children's book author Sid Fleischman felt a special obligation to his readers. "The books we enjoy as children stay with us forever -- they have a special impact. Paragraph after paragraph and page after page, the author must deliver his or her best work." With almost 60 books to his credit, some of which have been made into motion pictures, Sid Fleischman can be assured that his work will make a special impact.
Sid Fleischman wrote his books at a huge table cluttered with projects: story ideas, library books, research, letters, notes, pens, pencils, and a computer. He lived in an old-fashioned, two-story house full of creaks and character, and enjoys hearing the sound of the nearby Pacific Ocean.
Fleischman passed away after a battle with cancer on March 17, 2010, the day after his ninetieth birthday.
He was the father of Newbery Medal winning writer and poet Paul Fleischman, author of Joyful Noise; they are the only father and son to receive Newbery awards.
Sid Fleischman wrote his books at a huge table cluttered with projects: story ideas, library books, research, letters, notes, pens, pencils, and a computer. He lived in an old-fashioned, two-story house full of creaks and character, and enjoys hearing the sound of the nearby Pacific Ocean.
Fleischman passed away after a battle with cancer on March 17, 2010, the day after his ninetieth birthday.
He was the father of Newbery Medal winning writer and poet Paul Fleischman, author of Joyful Noise; they are the only father and son to receive Newbery awards.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 12, 2017
2.5
I found this at my library's bookstore a while back and was just now in the mood to read it. The name and the cover stood out as something that might be mysterious and interesting. The summary caught me as soon as I read about the haunt. Having a blacksmith, a thief and an orphan was certainly interesting in itself, but anything with a ghost and I'm all over it. The ghost sounded so cool because he was a magician and could turn straw into horses. Kind of an odd thing to do. I'm used to straw into gold, but I'll take it. I didn't like the name Touch for the main character. That's not a good name.
I was glad that Touch told the blacksmith, Mr. Hobbs, that the thief tried to steal his wallet, because while he'd been sleeping the man had reached out for it and Touch didn't say anything then. He waited until they got to the inn and the thief left.
It was a twist that the town sign said there was an infernal grouch and Mr. Hobbs told him it was his uncle the judge.
The story of the ghost, the Great Chaffalo, was interesting. In some battles of the Civil War he would make horses for a soldier so he could ride away. It was a bit of a letdown that all he did was snap his fingers and turn the straw into a horse without actually doing anything.
Very interesting that Touch was a cabin boy, but since the ship went aground before it left the harbor, the captain called him a Jonah, which is bad luck on two feet. And everyone heard about it at the wharves and would throw rocks at him. An interesting world.
The plot quickly became quite steep. I wasn't sure what was going on. Mr. Hobbs said the town thought Sally's--the girl at the Red Raven Inn--dad killed a guest there for his gold teeth, because the man was disappeared and was never seen again, and her dad got worked up over it and it killed him. Touch went to his uncle and the man tried to get him to sign a confounding paper of made-up words, and said Touch's dad had an inheritance for him, but that it was all spent, then said there was 37 cents and his dad's watch so I didn't know what was what. Touch saw the initials on the back of the watch and saw they weren't his dad's, so he didn't sign the papers and ran out. He went to the inn to work for Sally but she signed the judge's papers to give the inn over to him. A lot was going on.
It was just weird how he made up things to trap people. And like Mr. Hobbs pointed out, the judge said the inn was a plague so why did he want it so bad? It was all very sudden. They went from being on this coach ride with a short appearance from the ghost to a villain trying to trick everyone out of what was theirs. It was a lot to take in.
It was all very interesting as Touch went to The Great Chaffalo's house with a bundle of straw and asked for any horse with four legs; he'd take a plow horse and didn't need anything fancy. And The Great Chaffalo saying he had to promise not to tell how he came by the horse because he didn't want every farm boy coming with straw. I liked the line that Touch was proud to own the stallion because he'd never owned anything but his shadow.
Otis Cratt, the thief, was showing up everywhere. He had been at his uncle's house, then Touch saw him again at The Great Chaffalo's place. So when Touch left the horse in the woods to tell Mr. Hobbs he was leaving, Otis came and stole the horse. It was neat how Touch noticed The Great Chaffalo in the tree and a pile of straw on the ground and thought he'd taken the horse back, but he was insulted because the straw was moldy and hadn't been the one he'd used. It was clever of him to let Otis take it and get shoes for it because he knew Touch didn't have the money to shoe the horse.
Otis came back to use Touch because he thought he had magic and could turn him invisible. Touch concocted the plan to make him climb a tree and pick the topmost oak leaf and put in his hat but Otis didn't fall for it. Touch and to climb and when he got it he pretended he couldn't see him. Even The Great Chaffalo had a dove fly into Otis to keep the ruse going, and Touch went along with it and said even birds can't see him. It was highly convenient that Otis pulled out the pearls the judge had given him and asked if they were invisible, even said they were Pacific Island pearls. Touch knew his dad had sailed to the Pacific Islands. So he knew that was his inheritance. And even more convenient that Otis fell for it when Touch said they're invisible so they're worthless, because Otis knew he couldn't sell them if the buyer couldn't see him. So he just threw them down on the ground and said he could get more from where they came from. And even worse, he had promised to give the horse back if he was invisible but he didn't keep his promise and told Touch to make another one. Touch finally saw his whole face and could see that he had all gold teeth, which was a plot twist because he's the guest at the Red Raven Inn that everyone thinks Sally's dad killed.
Stupidly, Touch left the pearls in the leaves and took off to the inn. I don't know why he couldn't just take a second to get them. Stuff like that bothers me.
By the time he got to the inn his uncle was already there and Sally was about to give him the papers. Touch saved the day by grabbing them and running away, and who should be coming up the street but Otis Cratt? It was odd how he was talking to townspeople and demanding money but he thought he was invisible. I thought it would be obvious to him when people were talking to him that he wasn't invisible. It took the judge saying it to make him see.
What happened next was crazy and hard to follow. Otis got of the horse asking for money, so Touch got on the horse. Everyone could see the man with gold teeth was alive and well and hadn't been killed. His pockets were stuffed with the judge's things. He told Otis he wasn't invisible and had been tricked and started trying to hit him with his whip. Touch got up on the horse and then Otis did on the other side. So somehow they were both hanging onto the horse at he same time, and Otis had the horse ride off. He threw Touch off and made for the river, and Touch tried to go after but tripped over the coat we hadn't known Otis had taken off. That was majorly convenient that he dropped his entire coat of treasures before trying to get away.
Touch was almost crying that the horse wasn't going to make that jump, but right at the moment Otis jumped over the river with the horse there was a "hey! Hey!" and the horse turned to straw.
The sheriff took Otis and Touch got the pearls along with a letter from his dad. Wish I knew what it said! Mr. Hobbs figured out that the judge had hired Otis to come to town and stay at the inn and then disappear to cast fear on the inn so he could buy it cheap. The rest was overthought. We didn't need to know that after that he went to The Great Chaffalo's summer house and stayed there 1 or 2 nights, and that The Great Chaffalo had seen him and then he'd left town. We didn't need to know that at all.
Once the judge bought the inn he was going to have Otis appear in town so people could see the inn wasn't dangerous and he could get the customers again.
It was much shorter than I thought it would be, because the number of pages was wrong on here. I was disappointed that it wasn't longer. I expected a bit more. The story ended with the town thinking the judge was in league with the devil, that he had a black stick and made the horse disappear in midair. No one saw the straw, conveniently not realizing that it was The Great Chaffalo's trick. The whole town turned against him; Touch went back for the pearls and planned to give them to Sally and wouldn't touch his dad's pearls until he was grown. He left them in the bank and worked at the inn. And he wanted to find The Great Chaffalo sometime and get him to teach him to do the Chinese coin trick that Mr. Hobbs mentioned where he pulled a coin off the end of Mr. Hobbs' nose.
A pretty clever story, well thought out. Everything tied together and it was interesting. Finding out the author was a magician made it even cooler. I just wanted more substance. It was too short to have much of an impact. And the pictures gave away what was happening. The one I really had a problem with was when the pic was on the left-hand page and showed the uncle's carriage turned over, Touch on the ground, and Otis flying over the river holding straw. I looked at that and it ruined the text entirely because I could already see what had happened. The pictures totally gave things away.
I found this at my library's bookstore a while back and was just now in the mood to read it. The name and the cover stood out as something that might be mysterious and interesting. The summary caught me as soon as I read about the haunt. Having a blacksmith, a thief and an orphan was certainly interesting in itself, but anything with a ghost and I'm all over it. The ghost sounded so cool because he was a magician and could turn straw into horses. Kind of an odd thing to do. I'm used to straw into gold, but I'll take it. I didn't like the name Touch for the main character. That's not a good name.
I was glad that Touch told the blacksmith, Mr. Hobbs, that the thief tried to steal his wallet, because while he'd been sleeping the man had reached out for it and Touch didn't say anything then. He waited until they got to the inn and the thief left.
It was a twist that the town sign said there was an infernal grouch and Mr. Hobbs told him it was his uncle the judge.
The story of the ghost, the Great Chaffalo, was interesting. In some battles of the Civil War he would make horses for a soldier so he could ride away. It was a bit of a letdown that all he did was snap his fingers and turn the straw into a horse without actually doing anything.
Very interesting that Touch was a cabin boy, but since the ship went aground before it left the harbor, the captain called him a Jonah, which is bad luck on two feet. And everyone heard about it at the wharves and would throw rocks at him. An interesting world.
The plot quickly became quite steep. I wasn't sure what was going on. Mr. Hobbs said the town thought Sally's--the girl at the Red Raven Inn--dad killed a guest there for his gold teeth, because the man was disappeared and was never seen again, and her dad got worked up over it and it killed him. Touch went to his uncle and the man tried to get him to sign a confounding paper of made-up words, and said Touch's dad had an inheritance for him, but that it was all spent, then said there was 37 cents and his dad's watch so I didn't know what was what. Touch saw the initials on the back of the watch and saw they weren't his dad's, so he didn't sign the papers and ran out. He went to the inn to work for Sally but she signed the judge's papers to give the inn over to him. A lot was going on.
It was just weird how he made up things to trap people. And like Mr. Hobbs pointed out, the judge said the inn was a plague so why did he want it so bad? It was all very sudden. They went from being on this coach ride with a short appearance from the ghost to a villain trying to trick everyone out of what was theirs. It was a lot to take in.
It was all very interesting as Touch went to The Great Chaffalo's house with a bundle of straw and asked for any horse with four legs; he'd take a plow horse and didn't need anything fancy. And The Great Chaffalo saying he had to promise not to tell how he came by the horse because he didn't want every farm boy coming with straw. I liked the line that Touch was proud to own the stallion because he'd never owned anything but his shadow.
Otis Cratt, the thief, was showing up everywhere. He had been at his uncle's house, then Touch saw him again at The Great Chaffalo's place. So when Touch left the horse in the woods to tell Mr. Hobbs he was leaving, Otis came and stole the horse. It was neat how Touch noticed The Great Chaffalo in the tree and a pile of straw on the ground and thought he'd taken the horse back, but he was insulted because the straw was moldy and hadn't been the one he'd used. It was clever of him to let Otis take it and get shoes for it because he knew Touch didn't have the money to shoe the horse.
Otis came back to use Touch because he thought he had magic and could turn him invisible. Touch concocted the plan to make him climb a tree and pick the topmost oak leaf and put in his hat but Otis didn't fall for it. Touch and to climb and when he got it he pretended he couldn't see him. Even The Great Chaffalo had a dove fly into Otis to keep the ruse going, and Touch went along with it and said even birds can't see him. It was highly convenient that Otis pulled out the pearls the judge had given him and asked if they were invisible, even said they were Pacific Island pearls. Touch knew his dad had sailed to the Pacific Islands. So he knew that was his inheritance. And even more convenient that Otis fell for it when Touch said they're invisible so they're worthless, because Otis knew he couldn't sell them if the buyer couldn't see him. So he just threw them down on the ground and said he could get more from where they came from. And even worse, he had promised to give the horse back if he was invisible but he didn't keep his promise and told Touch to make another one. Touch finally saw his whole face and could see that he had all gold teeth, which was a plot twist because he's the guest at the Red Raven Inn that everyone thinks Sally's dad killed.
Stupidly, Touch left the pearls in the leaves and took off to the inn. I don't know why he couldn't just take a second to get them. Stuff like that bothers me.
By the time he got to the inn his uncle was already there and Sally was about to give him the papers. Touch saved the day by grabbing them and running away, and who should be coming up the street but Otis Cratt? It was odd how he was talking to townspeople and demanding money but he thought he was invisible. I thought it would be obvious to him when people were talking to him that he wasn't invisible. It took the judge saying it to make him see.
What happened next was crazy and hard to follow. Otis got of the horse asking for money, so Touch got on the horse. Everyone could see the man with gold teeth was alive and well and hadn't been killed. His pockets were stuffed with the judge's things. He told Otis he wasn't invisible and had been tricked and started trying to hit him with his whip. Touch got up on the horse and then Otis did on the other side. So somehow they were both hanging onto the horse at he same time, and Otis had the horse ride off. He threw Touch off and made for the river, and Touch tried to go after but tripped over the coat we hadn't known Otis had taken off. That was majorly convenient that he dropped his entire coat of treasures before trying to get away.
Touch was almost crying that the horse wasn't going to make that jump, but right at the moment Otis jumped over the river with the horse there was a "hey! Hey!" and the horse turned to straw.
The sheriff took Otis and Touch got the pearls along with a letter from his dad. Wish I knew what it said! Mr. Hobbs figured out that the judge had hired Otis to come to town and stay at the inn and then disappear to cast fear on the inn so he could buy it cheap. The rest was overthought. We didn't need to know that after that he went to The Great Chaffalo's summer house and stayed there 1 or 2 nights, and that The Great Chaffalo had seen him and then he'd left town. We didn't need to know that at all.
Once the judge bought the inn he was going to have Otis appear in town so people could see the inn wasn't dangerous and he could get the customers again.
It was much shorter than I thought it would be, because the number of pages was wrong on here. I was disappointed that it wasn't longer. I expected a bit more. The story ended with the town thinking the judge was in league with the devil, that he had a black stick and made the horse disappear in midair. No one saw the straw, conveniently not realizing that it was The Great Chaffalo's trick. The whole town turned against him; Touch went back for the pearls and planned to give them to Sally and wouldn't touch his dad's pearls until he was grown. He left them in the bank and worked at the inn. And he wanted to find The Great Chaffalo sometime and get him to teach him to do the Chinese coin trick that Mr. Hobbs mentioned where he pulled a coin off the end of Mr. Hobbs' nose.
A pretty clever story, well thought out. Everything tied together and it was interesting. Finding out the author was a magician made it even cooler. I just wanted more substance. It was too short to have much of an impact. And the pictures gave away what was happening. The one I really had a problem with was when the pic was on the left-hand page and showed the uncle's carriage turned over, Touch on the ground, and Otis flying over the river holding straw. I looked at that and it ruined the text entirely because I could already see what had happened. The pictures totally gave things away.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 29, 2012
When an orphan boy, Touch, finds a gold piece hidden in the lining of his new coat (cast off from the rag man) he decides to travel in style, by coach, to find his great-uncle. Great-uncle Judge Henry Wigglesforth turns out to be conniving and mean-spirited. As the story unfolds, we learn that Wigglesforth has withheld from Touch his rightful inheritance.
The playful illustrations by Peter Sis are marvelous!
I haven’t read any of this book yet to a young audience, but I believe they will like it because the story features a magician named The Great Chaffalo who can turn a bundle of straw into a majestic bay stallion. I am certain that the illustrations alone will captivate third graders.
Globereaders
January 21, 2026
Short story/short chapter book I enjoyed reading and was curious to see how it would turn out. I didn’t expect magic to enter the book about half way; I would have preferred it if our hero had solved the day with his wits alone (without the help of the magical deus ex machina).
Art preferences are subjective, but I didn’t like the illustrations in this book. I also felt the author far overused the word “murmured” as he used it many times when “said” or anything else would have been more appropriate.
Art preferences are subjective, but I didn’t like the illustrations in this book. I also felt the author far overused the word “murmured” as he used it many times when “said” or anything else would have been more appropriate.
July 12, 2019
Touch is recently orphaned, so he sets off to meet his one last relative, who is an evil and crooked judge. The judge tries to cheat Touch out of his inheritance and also swindle a lady out of her inn. With the help of a magician's ghost, Touch is able to reveal his uncle's true character.
February 13, 2019
This book is a delightful, imaginative read. The illustrations are gems scattered throughout the book.
September 3, 2020
Not the story I thought it would be..
November 26, 2020
Nice, short, cute story. Love Sid Fleishman stories! They’re always so imaginative and wondrous! Each one is a treat. I will definitely be reading more soon!
May 17, 2021
Short, fun little story. Not going to change the world, just a fun ghost story.
October 4, 2022
The only thing I didn't like about this story was the boy's name, Touch. Other than that it was short, and full of adventure and magic.
October 10, 2024
Fun, quick read. I was hoping for something spooky for Halloween, but this was a bit tame.
February 11, 2024
Touch travels to Crinklewood, New Hampshire, to get his inheritance from his great-uncle, Judge Wigglesworth. The spirit of The Great Chaffalo appears on the coach roof. Chaffalo is famous for transforming a tuft of straw into a striking stallion. Soon after the stage gets to town, Touch learns that his uncle is a scoundrel. The judge has slandered the reputation of the innkeeper in hopes of buying the inn at a low price. Then, he cheats Touch out of his inheritance by giving him 37 cents and a watch that bears a stranger's initials. Knowing that the watch never belonged to his father, Touch refuses it and the money. He runs away when the judge threatens to put him in an orphanage. Calling on Chaffalo's help, Touch reveals Judge Wigglesforth's diabolical scheme.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com
February 18, 2009
Nice little short story from Fleischman, who I think doesn't ever write a bad book. Reluctant boy readers might be drawn to this for its mystery plot and orphan boy protagonist. Standard setup of 3 characters in tension, and the evil uncle thing. Kid has to use his wits to outsmart one of the bad guys. An oldie but goody. I really like Fleischman's use of descriptive words, and this could even be used for instruction on that kind of writing technique.
December 29, 2010
Great descriptive language but the plot is kind of weird. It reminds me of Sid Fleischman's Newbery Winner The Whipping Boy that I didn't really enjoy but other did.
Now that I'm finished I just didn't enjoy this story. Fleischman is a fantastic story teller and his use of sensory images is great but I just didn't like the story line.
Now that I'm finished I just didn't enjoy this story. Fleischman is a fantastic story teller and his use of sensory images is great but I just didn't like the story line.
June 13, 2016
Sid Fleischman is always amusing, clever, intriguing. This novel had a magician/ghost, a spectral horse, a plucky orphan, an innkeeper in despair, a wicked uncle, ....what more could you want?
November 27, 2017
Fun kid's book, though was surprised to realize how modern it was since it felt older and less sophisticated than I would've liked, even for a kid's book.
Picked it up for my 9 year old at his school book fare for free. Quick read that was worth the time. Maybe I'll update this after he reads it too.
Picked it up for my 9 year old at his school book fare for free. Quick read that was worth the time. Maybe I'll update this after he reads it too.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews