Cougar

by Helen V. Griffith

Nickel just wants to play soccer with his new friends but is bullied by the nasty Robbo and his gang, until a horse ghost named Cougar and an enchanted bicycle come to his aid.

Hardcover

First published May 1, 1999

About the author

In Her Own Words...

"What I like about writing books is that I can sit and think about things that most adults never think about, and it's okay because I'm a children's book writer.

I can imagine what my dog is dreaming about or what she and my cat discuss when I'm not around. I can design a time machine or make up a tall tale, and nobody says, "Grow up, Helen"--because I'm a children's book writer.

I was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware, and I work in the family business. We're distributors of roofing and siding materials, and I've never yet gotten a story inspiration from that. Most of my ideas seem to come from dogs I have known.

My grandfather was part of our family and used to read to me a lot-the Sunday funny papers, turn-of-the-century primers, and The Arabian Nights. When I could read for myself, I read fairy tales, dog and horse stories, and comic books by the dozen.

I started writing poems and the beginnings of novels by the age of seven or eight, but I was forty before I thought about writing for publication.

For fun, I like reading (especially Anthony Trollope) and birdwatching, and I've just started learning to play old-time fiddle!"

Reviews

[Cassidy Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember loving it in 4th grade.

[Wolf Ostheeren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read any books for "yound readers" in quite a while and I'm glad to know that I still haven't grown out of them yet. This was a really good read and a very original take on the old "a boy and his horse" topic, even though it stays more than obvious in other regards. Brought tears to the corners of my eyes more than once.