Purebred

Saddle Club #39

by Bonnie Bryant

When Carole Hanson and her father travel to Minnesota to visit relatives, Carole has the perfect assignment to create a family tree.  Ever since her mother died, Carole has been curious about that side of the family, especially about an ancestor who journeyed north along the Underground Railroad.  Then Carole discovers a secret lurking in her family tree, and she begins to question where she's come from.  Do bloodlines matter as much with people as they do with horses?  Carole discovers the answer when a dangerous horseback ride threatens the life of one of her relatives.

Genres: Horses, Childrens, Young Adult, Middle Grade

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

American author of children's books. She is best known for creating the intermediate horse book series The Saddle Club, which was published from October 1988 until April 2001. The Saddle Club chronicled the adventures of thirteen-year-old Lisa Atwood and twelve-year-olds Stephanie "Stevie" Lake and Carole Hanson. The series was static in time; the girls never aged in 101 books, 7 special editions, and 3 Inside Stories.

Bonnie Bryant also wrote two spin-off series: Pony Tails, aimed at beginning readers, and Pine Hollow, aimed at teenage readers. The 16 Pony Tails books followed the lives of eight-year-olds May Grover, Corey Takamura, and Jasmine James. Pine Hollow featured Carole, Lisa, Stevie, and their new friends in a series set four years after The Saddle Club. Unlike The Saddle Club, Pine Hollow conformed to a realistic timeline. The 17 books took place over the span of less than a year. Later a television show called The Saddle Club, based on the books, was filmed in Australia.

Bonnie Bryant wrote at least 38 The Saddle Club books and 2 Pine Hollow books herself; after that they were taken over by a team of ghostwriters, a common practice in long-running children's book series. Ghostwriters for the Saddle Club and Pine Hollow books included Caitlin Macy (sometimes credited as Caitlin C. Macy), Catherine Hapka, Sallie Bissell, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, Helen Geraghty, Tina deVaron, Cat Johnston, Minna Jung, and Sheila Prescott-Vessey.

Bonnie Bryant is also the author of many novelizations of movies, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Karate Kid, and Honey, I Blew Up the Kid, written under her married name, B.B. Hiller. She also collaborated in the ghostwriting of The Baby-sitters Club Super Special #14: BSC in the USA, published under the name of its creator, Ann M. Martin.

Bonnie Bryant was born and raised in New York City. She met her husband, Neil W. Hiller, in college, where they both worked on the campus newspaper. They had two sons, Emmons Hiller and Andrew Hiller. Neil Hiller died in 1989. Many of Bonnie's books are dedicated to him.
***from wikipedia.org

Reviews

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really good book, in which we get to learn more about Carole and her family history. I think it was really awesome that some historical events were thrown into this book, along with the horses. I liked this one.

[Margo]

Carole goes to Minnesota and learns about her family and their slavery history and her aunt is mean to her until she gets hurt

[Cws]

JAR4-Bry

[Hazel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good series for horse crazy young teens. I loved it when I was younger.

[Sammy]

Perfect read for pony-crazy teenagers.

[Twyla]

Predictions: page 104, Aunt Jessie and louise were lost in the mountains on a dangerous ride on horses.