Blaze Finds Forgotten Roads

Billy & Blaze #11

by C.W. Anderson

Billy and his friend Tommy often take long rides through the woods and over the hills on their ponies, Blaze and Dusty. One day they decide to explore some of the country they have never seen. They agree to take every right turn they come to and see what they will find. After a day of discoveries, they are lost—but Blaze knows the way home!

Blaze Finds Forgotten Roads is part of the classic Billy and Blaze series. Sensitive drawings and easy-to-read words capture the warmth and understanding between a boy and his horse.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Animals, Horses, Fiction

48 pages, Library Binding

First published September 1, 1970

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

C.W. Anderson - aka Clarence William Anderson
From Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence...

Clarence William Anderson (1891–1971) was an author and illustrator of children's books. Known professionally as C.W. Anderson, Anderson had an interest in horses and drawing.

Anderson started his career by illustrating for other authors, but eventually began developing texts to accompany his realistic and lively black and white drawings. He is best known for his "Billy and Blaze" book series.

The adventures of Billy and Blaze would revolve around proper care of the horse, while teaching a lesson. Anderson would go to great lengths to give accurate information. He would even go on to write Heads Up, Heels Down as a training tool for young horse lovers. All of the stories Anderson wrote would be based on true stories or people that Anderson knew, only the plots were fiction.

By the end of Anderson's life, he had written and illustrated over thirty-five horse books, and also had created covers for the Saturday Evening Post.

Reviews

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

And so we come to the end of the Billy and Blaze series. This was published not long before Anderson's death in 1971. Like The Blind Connemera, Anderson's last book, the drawings have a hazy, ethereal quality, as if he couldn't quite get his hand down hard enough to draw darker lines.

Billy looks more like he did in his very first book, done in 1936, although he wears more sensible long riding pants here, instead of shorts. Blaze looks like he always does. He's the most vividly drawn character in the book.

There's not much of a story here, but the retelling of a memorable trail ride. Blaze, as usual, manages to save the day.

I put off reading this last Billy and Blaze book for a long time, since I didn't want it to end. You can currently find the entire Billy and Blaze series on the Internet Archive.

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Storywise, this might be my favorite Blaze title. Adventurous, free-range kids finding hidden treasures … every kid’s dream!

SPOILER/Plot: Billy and Tommy go horseback riding/exploring. In the course of the day, they discover the ruins of a house, with some artifacts, and a waterfall! They don’t know the way home, but of course Blaze does!

[Nicole Fanning · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Billy and Blaze series is great for little kids who love adventure and nature. When we finished the series, my seven year old said “We are DEFINITELY reading those again.” They are treasures that you won’t find on any of the modern children’s book lists.

[Paula Greenfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exploring on horseback is always fun and can be a bit scary. I love this series.

[Juli Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a particularly good Blaze story.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Billy and Blaze books. My grandson also enjoyed this book very much.

[Jennifer (JenIsNotaBookSnob) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was yet another horse book really enjoyed in childhood. I don't remember a thing about the text, but I LOVED the illustrations. I also wanted to draw horses just like this.

One day I will gather all of these C.W. Anderson horse books and read them all again.

[Anna]

Book 11 in the series