The Mystery of Pony Hollow Panda

by Lynn Hall, William Hutchinson (Illustrator)

When her pony disappears from the pet parade Sarah follows the clues and tries to unravel the mystery.

Genres: Horses

64 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Lynn Hall was the author of over fifty novels for juvenile and young adult readers, as well as over two dozen novels for younger readers. Her books focus on coming-of-age stories featuring dogs and horses.

Reviews

[Stephanie A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A less spooky but equally moving sequel to The Mystery of Pony Hollow, in which Panda disappears after being ridden in the Memorial Day Pet Parade. After searching desperately to no avail, Sarah decides to try tracing her sales history, hoping that Panda has simply run away to a former home. Her search may also provide the answer to how Panda obtained that strange scar on her hip.

If you want to know the ending:
As it turns out, she was taken by a woman who is...not quite all there after suffering from her own tragedy. Panda used to belong to her daughter, until one day their house caught fire and it spread to the barn. Her daughter ran in to save the pony, not realizing Panda had already escaped. Her father ran in after her, and both were killed when a gas can exploded. When the woman saw Sarah riding Panda in the parade, some thread snapped and she became convinced it was her daughter, and when her daughter didn't show up, she brought the pony home to wait.

While nothing holds a candle to its predecessor, and the illustrations aren't as detailed and evocative as Ruth Sanderson's, I am highly satisfied with it and it makes me wish that Sarah and Panda had been given a whole series.