What do you think?
Rate this book
Bonnie and Sam #1
The Shadow Brumby
Bonnie and Sam are best friends. No one loves horses the way they do. When Bonnie whispers to them, they understand, and Sam always knows if they need a drink, or a hug, or a race around the paddock.
The girls ride together whenever they can, and they have the best adventures, like that time the wild shadow brumby slipped into town . . .
Illustrated in full colour.
The girls ride together whenever they can, and they have the best adventures, like that time the wild shadow brumby slipped into town . . .
Illustrated in full colour.
65 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2007
5 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Alison Lester
125 books117 followersHas a son Lachie Hume, who is also a published children's book author.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 4, 2016
Alison Lester, “Bonnie & Sam: The Shadow Brumby (Book1)” (Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin, 2007)
“Bonnie and Sam knew all the horses and ponies in Currawong Creek. They were horse-crazy!” (p4)
Wonderful story about two Australian friends and their shared loved of horses. Original tale of Drover and … new Drover {I'll keep this spoiler-free}.
Words we looked up were:
* Piebald pony = spotted with two different colors (especially black and white) on horses’ coats. A skewbald has large irregular patches of black and white (usually black on a white base) (p11)
* Skewbald pony = Any other colour or colours and white i.e. bay, brown, chestnut, grey, dun or palomino and white. There may be some black marks in addition. (p6)
* Plaiting her mane (p6).
* Dressage horse = dressage is “the highest expression of horse training” where “horse and rider are expected to perform from memory a series of predetermined movements.” (p8)
* Manège = a school for teaching horsemanship and for training horses (p8)
* Quarter horse = a horse of a small stocky breed noted for agility and speed over short distances. (p9)
* Appaloosa = an American horse breed best known for its colorful spotted coat pattern. (p9)
* Fly veil = protects your horse from flies and insects (p11)
* Buckskin = Buckskin is a hair coat colour of horses, referring to a colour that resembles certain shades of tanned deerskin. (p12)
* Bareback = Bareback riding is a form of horseback riding without a saddle. (p12)
* Double-dinking = ride double, two people. (p12, 58)
* Brumbies = Brumbies are the descendants of escaped or lost horses. (p12)
* Withers = The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal. (p26)
* Horse gaits = are the various ways in which a horse can move: walk, trot, canter and gallop. (p37)
“They raced up the track to Sam's house, night riders with a secret.” (p.64)
- - -
“Bonnie and Sam knew all the horses and ponies in Currawong Creek. They were horse-crazy!” (p4)
Wonderful story about two Australian friends and their shared loved of horses. Original tale of Drover and … new Drover {I'll keep this spoiler-free}.
Words we looked up were:
* Piebald pony = spotted with two different colors (especially black and white) on horses’ coats. A skewbald has large irregular patches of black and white (usually black on a white base) (p11)
* Skewbald pony = Any other colour or colours and white i.e. bay, brown, chestnut, grey, dun or palomino and white. There may be some black marks in addition. (p6)
* Plaiting her mane (p6).
* Dressage horse = dressage is “the highest expression of horse training” where “horse and rider are expected to perform from memory a series of predetermined movements.” (p8)
* Manège = a school for teaching horsemanship and for training horses (p8)
* Quarter horse = a horse of a small stocky breed noted for agility and speed over short distances. (p9)
* Appaloosa = an American horse breed best known for its colorful spotted coat pattern. (p9)
* Fly veil = protects your horse from flies and insects (p11)
* Buckskin = Buckskin is a hair coat colour of horses, referring to a colour that resembles certain shades of tanned deerskin. (p12)
* Bareback = Bareback riding is a form of horseback riding without a saddle. (p12)
* Double-dinking = ride double, two people. (p12, 58)
* Brumbies = Brumbies are the descendants of escaped or lost horses. (p12)
* Withers = The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal. (p26)
* Horse gaits = are the various ways in which a horse can move: walk, trot, canter and gallop. (p37)
“They raced up the track to Sam's house, night riders with a secret.” (p.64)
- - -
March 31, 2018
Reviewed by Grace, age 7, 3/31/18
This book is about two horses that look almost exactly the same. One of them just galloped over to the field where the other one was. Their names were Drover and Shadow. Shadow is wild and Drover is tame. They decide to switch places, so Drover leaped over the fence to the other side, and Shadow leaped over into the fence. Sam and Bonnie noticed because Shadow had a moon shaped scar under his mane and a bunch of scars on his leg. Sams father's rescued a little girl while riding Shadow (who was pretending to be Drover.) The girls tried to tell the father that Shadow was a wild horse, but he didn't listen.
I would recommend this book to my friends Bryn and Piper and Maddy, and other girls who like horses. I want to read the other books in this series.
This book is about two horses that look almost exactly the same. One of them just galloped over to the field where the other one was. Their names were Drover and Shadow. Shadow is wild and Drover is tame. They decide to switch places, so Drover leaped over the fence to the other side, and Shadow leaped over into the fence. Sam and Bonnie noticed because Shadow had a moon shaped scar under his mane and a bunch of scars on his leg. Sams father's rescued a little girl while riding Shadow (who was pretending to be Drover.) The girls tried to tell the father that Shadow was a wild horse, but he didn't listen.
I would recommend this book to my friends Bryn and Piper and Maddy, and other girls who like horses. I want to read the other books in this series.
July 10, 2018
First of a four book series about Bonnie and Sam and their love for horses, this one about the title shadow brumby, in what amounts to a case of mistaken identity or is it a sneaky swap? Whatever the case maybe the book has some charm, even though horses were never really my thing. Apparently many girls have a right of passage with a horse thing and they may indeed find these books give them the appropriate thrills, otherwise you may choose not to read it and well... just say neigh!
January 24, 2020
a favourite from when I too was a young horse crazy girl,
this book holds so many dear memories for me.
a great read for early readers, and girls that only use birthday candles to wish for horses/anything that might be close to a horse.
a great read.
this book holds so many dear memories for me.
a great read for early readers, and girls that only use birthday candles to wish for horses/anything that might be close to a horse.
a great read.
May 26, 2020
This is a fun read. It's for young readers, but I enjoyed it immensely. I love reading about other countries and animals. This has both. The story is believable and filled with amazing events. How refreshing!
December 21, 2018
this is amazing the girls are like me horse crazy if you are horse crazy the you will love this
December 1, 2022
Fun book. I enjoyed looking at the pictures and map.
March 6, 2023
Review to follow
November 21, 2011
This is no ordinary horse book--set in a small Australian town, it's a completely unique story that treats both the horses and the girls who love them as characters in their own rights. Bonnie and Sam are self-described as "horse crazy," and they know every horse in town. When Sam's dad's new horse won't make friends, they're disappointed... until she switches places with an identical wild horse. The girls set about training the new horse, who proves she made the right choice in coming to live with them when she helps Sam's dad save a toddler from serious danger. Despite the simplicity of the story, The Silver Horse Switch is a delightful book, with vivid, motion-filled watercolors illustrating many of the pages and a detailed map of the town (including each horse's paddock) on the inside cover. Alison Lester avoids many of the clichés of the typical girl-and-pony story, while staying on a level that young readers will enjoy. Highly recommended for grades 2 and 3.
Tags: horses, Australia, small town life, friendship, wild horses, illustrations, grades 2-3, horse fans, animal lovers, transitional chapter book
Tags: horses, Australia, small town life, friendship, wild horses, illustrations, grades 2-3, horse fans, animal lovers, transitional chapter book
February 28, 2014
Anytime my children are engaged in a story long enough that takes them away from the nothingness of electronic games, I have to strongly recommend it. Horse Crazy by Alison Lester is just such a book! The following is my child's accounting of this 4 star read:
"I think why you should read Horse Crazy is because it realy has detail and describes what it looked like. It also has exciting parts and sad parts.I really enjoyed the characters. It tells you how the characters feel, too. It took me about three days to read it. It's an Australian book. It even tells you what the Australian words mean in the back of the book.It also makes you feel like your inside the book. It's so interesting that you might not be able to stop reading it. That's why you should read Horse Crazy."
"I think why you should read Horse Crazy is because it realy has detail and describes what it looked like. It also has exciting parts and sad parts.I really enjoyed the characters. It tells you how the characters feel, too. It took me about three days to read it. It's an Australian book. It even tells you what the Australian words mean in the back of the book.It also makes you feel like your inside the book. It's so interesting that you might not be able to stop reading it. That's why you should read Horse Crazy."
January 22, 2016
This chapter book for younger readers has a mystery to solve, with some adventure through in for good measure. A stubborn and aloof horse suddenly enjoys living on Sam's ranch. Why is that? Best friends Bonnie and Sam set about to solve this mystery in the first of a series set in Australia. There is a glossary of Australian terms to help American children with the new vocabulary. This would be a good introduction to the “Horse Crazy” series, appropriate for girls not ready for the “Saddle Club” series or Marguerite Henry’s novels yet ready to move away from “Cowgirl Kate” books.
May 15, 2009
I think that horse-lovers who are always looking for a new horse series will like this book but am not sure if it will have an audience for others. It takes place in Australia and uses some Australian words that kids might not be familiar with. It does have some illustrations to help those beginning readers. Good for 3rd/4th.
September 28, 2010
ANOTHER horse series for my horse crazy little girl. This is a cute book about a switch with a "tame" horse and wild horse and no one but the two young girls in the story are aware of it. The book is set in Australia so we learned some new Australian terms! We'll have to see if our library has more of these books!
July 13, 2011
This one wasn't MY favorite but girls who are looking for "horse" books will enjoy it. The main characters are fun and easy to relate to. It's set in Australia so some terms might be unfamiliar to readers but the author provides a glossary in the back.
May 26, 2016
Never told me
I read the book and at no point in the Book does it tell you if they get switched. They just want a mystery. It's weird I will be not purchasing a nother in the series any time soon.
I read the book and at no point in the Book does it tell you if they get switched. They just want a mystery. It's weird I will be not purchasing a nother in the series any time soon.
May 5, 2009
new series from Downunder.
August 12, 2016
A series for young girls in their 'horse' phase.
June 8, 2011
Very cute story. I love the two main characters.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews