Riding Class

Saddle Club #52

by Bonnie Bryant

Emily has cerebral palsy, but she and her specially trained horse get around just fine. The Saddle Club girls make friends with Emily and even take her on her first trail ride.

Genres: Horses, Childrens, Young Adult, Middle Grade

Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

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

[Tonia Christle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was written by an author who clearly didn't have an understanding of CP. There were all kinds of inaccuracies and the focus was very much on the other kids, viewing CP and Emily through a nondisabled lens. I enjoyed Emily as a character, but it was a bit disheartening to learn this was written in 1996 and the representation was still pretty rude.

[AS · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pathetically inaccurate across the board. The shadow writer again did horrible research and this one needs to be edited and rereleased.

[Tarissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved reading Riding Class (#52). It explores equestrian therapy for people with debilitating medical conditions. I like how the three girls The Saddle Club got involved to learn about something new (it's still about horses!) and volunteered their time wisely. Plus I hope that their new friend Emily shows up again in future books.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did like this one, it was interesting to read about Emily's different saddle and all that kind of stuff, you know?

[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.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book my daughter wanted me to read. I enjoyed the story because it portrayed situations where pre-teen and teen girls reached outside of themselves to benefit others.