Black Beauty

by John Davage (Adapter), Anna Sewell

Black Beauty works hard for his owners, who are sometimes cruel, sometimes kind, sometimes rich, sometimes poor. Will he ever find true happiness?

Genres: Classics, Childrens, Fiction, Young Adult, Horses, Animals, Novels

49 pages, Paperback

First published January 22, 2001

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black Beauty was one of those very meaningful books from my early independent reading years. It deeply affected me and my besotted love of all animals, especially horses. Certain scenes never have left me like Ginger's lolling tongue dripping blood .(shudder). Because of this story, I forever think of the animals perception and vowed to be more kind and generous toward those without any voice. As a kid cooped up inside for three stormy days , I found a copy of BB that had been my great grandmother's book. I read my own modern copy of BB and immediately upon completing it read the old book of my great grandmother. I loved imagining how my g grandma enjoyed the very book I was reading! I discovered a change of two words which pleased me that my new copy was still authentic. That's one book I will never part with.

[Liam Leftley · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Black Beauty’ by Anna Sewell is the timeless tale of life in Victorian era Britain through the eyes of the main protagonist, Black Beauty himself. The story begins with the horse’s carefree life as a young colt through to his difficult life pulling cabs under different owners and finally to his happy retirement in the countryside. The story was revolutionary in its time and helped to bring about changes in people’s attitudes to animal welfare and ultimately changes in the law also, something that the book outlines.

This version is part of the Dorling Kindersley ‘classic readers’ collection and as such constitutes an abridged and child friendly version of the story. The book not only features colourful illustrations throughout but also explanations and definitions at the sides of the pages that help contextualise the story and help educate any potential reader about the life, times and customs of Victorian Britain.

The publisher, Dorling Kindersley, advise that this version of the book is for ‘proficient readers’ and as such, I would recommend it for either advance readers in Year 4 or for any type of reader from Year 5 and from Year 6.

[Kate Huber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book because it tells about a horse named Black Beauty and its life. And how you should treat horses.

[Ayat Alahmed · Rating 3 out of 5]

"my troubles are all over, and I am at home ; and often before I am quite awake, I fancy I am still in the orchard at Birtwick, standing with my old friends under the apple-tree."



Suitable for beginners..

The copy which is prepared by Derya Akküç is a very bad one with lots of writing and grammar mistakes.

[Miruna Miriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mi-ar fi plăcut să apară și o pisică.

[Zahra · Rating 2 out of 5]

March 20
03:30 PM

[Cass Harvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, well to start with I am the type of girl that tends to read EVERYTHING in books, forewords, recommendations, epilogue's, you name it, I read it-or in some cases skip if it is boring!. In the case of this book, I am really grateful for that commitment to detail as the Life and Times section preceding the story so impressed me. Not only was this book Anna Sewell's only book, it changed the world in a way that has stayed with me in a very powerful way. So clever was her approach in linking the ill-treatment of animals to moral righteousness that she changed a Victorian era's generation and generations to come in highlighting the importance of respecting and treating animals with care and thoughtfulness, failure to do so, she suggested, could result in an eternal judgement. It is not this premise that so impressed me, it was the fact that she died soon after the books release not realising how incredibly powerful her small book became, one author, one book, a legacy evolves...that impressed me, the simplicity of a suggestion!

A compassionate writer, the book is written in the first tense, from a horse's perspective and is beautifully written, emotionally tuned and filled with colourful and interesting characters.

The section Words and Phrases at the end of the book was entertaining and it was nice to have some additional phrases and terms explained, nerd-alert I know! I really enjoyed this book for its simplicity and consideration - a classic that will definitely warrant a few re-reads over the years I imagine =)

[arianalovesoscarwilde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quotes:

“there is no religion without love, and people may talk as much as they like about their religion, but if it does not teach them to be good and kind to man and beast it is all a sham—all a sham, James, and it won't stand when things come to be turned inside out.”

“Good Luck is rather particular who she rides with, and mostly prefers those who have got common sense and a good heart; at least that is my experience.”

“My doctrine is this, that if we see cruelty or wrong that we have the power to stop, and do nothing, we make ourselves sharers in the guilt.”

“the face, that was once so full of spirit and life, was now full of suffering,”

“Is it not better," she said, "to lead a good fashion than to follow a bad one?”

“we call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words. ”

“I have nothing to fear; and here my story ends. My troubles are all over, and I am at home;”

“it seems to me that the innocent always suffer;”

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book as well. I thought it might just be a story about a horse and horses in general, which it is, but it was MUCH more than that. It was a story about Redemption. It too was the hero's journey. The hero was the the horse. I loved learning about the masters and how they treated their horses because I think there's much to learn about parenting through the relationships of all the horses with their masters. The way the masters treated their horses had EVERYTHING to do with how the horses turned out. I also learned much through the horse about submission to everything (people, weather, illness etc.)which is what life is about.

[aljouharah · Rating 2 out of 5]

قصة قصيرة ولطيفة من وجهة نظر حصان في القرن الثامن عشر ..

جيدة تماماً لمن يواجه أعاصير وفيضانات عقليه بداخل مخه ويريد أن يقرأ شيئاً كتغيير بسيط وذو معنى كذلك..

قرأتها وأنهيتها قبل أن يتحرك الباص ظهر اليوم، الكلمات سهلة ومبسطة جداً لمن يريد تطوير لغته الإنجليزية وأن يقرأ، نسختي من سلسلة بينجوين ريدرز.

[Entitet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stars based on how much I loved the book as a child.

[American Mensa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anna Sewell’s book Black Beauty is a classic story that is told from the point of view of a horse. It tells the story about a little horse, called Black Beauty, who is living in England being raised by his mom under the care of a farmer. This life is very simple, and Farmer Grey is a good caretaker. Beauty then moves onto his next part of life where he has the best time. His caretaker, John Manly, is a very kind man who treats Beauty with respect. He meets horses such as Ginger and Merrylegs, but he learns that the world isn’t perfect for horses and some horses have been mistreated. Beauty loves his new place though and even says, “the longer I lived at Birtwick, the more proud and happy I felt at having such a place,” (Sewell 39). Then, one-night Beauty rode John Manly into the doctors to save Beauty’s mistress who was sick. Beauty then got sick afterwards, and then he received bad news. He had to leave the nice farm because the mistress had to go live somewhere warmer, and they had to sell the horses. The new owners would rather have their horses look good than have them be comfortable. His life there shows how different his life at his old home was. He is not treated nicely, but at his old home he was treated like a king. Eventually, Beauty gets sold to a new man, Jerry Barker, who loves Beauty. Jerry has to leave Beauty because he gets sick, and Beauty is sold to a corn dealer and a baker. They do not treat him well, and he is hurt and overworked. He was sold once again to a mean owner who hurt him after making him work too hard. Beauty was saved by a doctor who helped Beauty get sold to a nicer person. This was Black Beauty’s final home, and he was happy.
Anna Sewell does a good job of explaining how horses feel when they are treated nicely vs when they are abused by their owners. Since this is written from the point of view of a horse, it shows how Black Beauty interacts with his other friends like Ginger, how he interacts with his surroundings, etc. This book is different from most books where the point of view is from a person, so we can really understand their feelings. In this book though, I can understand how the horse feels because Sewell makes sure the horse explains things like a human would. She makes it so that the horse also has feelings and we can feel how they are feeling.
It was a different book to read due to the fact that it was written from a horse’s point of view, but it was a pretty good book. I give this book 4 stars only because it was a better book for younger kids that teenagers in high school. Younger kids would love to read a fiction story like this. I recommend this book to people who love animals and fiction. The author of this book is very good at descriptive writing, and the storyline really shows the struggles and high points of a horse’s life.
Reviewed by Zelie M, age 15, Central Pennsylvania Mensa

[Batota · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read it a long time ago at school.. We had a shortened version, but all I remember is how fascinating it was. My mom downloaded me an e book and fell in love with it. I finished before the one in our English textbook. I felt EVERY. SINGLE. EMOTION. beauty felt. After reading this I felt like a horse expert and I really wanted to ride one... Sadly I couldn't, but I still love the story and feel like I could Reread it ❤️

[Gigi Maroulis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember seeing this book in my moms house for years. I think I read it when I was a child but couldn't remember it at all, so when I found the book again, I decided to read it. The story is really nice, I found myself get really invested in the character of Black Beauty and how he ended up going from one place to the other, meeting new people along the way. Overall it was really nice to read. Would recommend.

[--- · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing book, I totally recommend it. It was such an nice read and I will defiantly keep it and reread it in the future. Anna Sewell wrote this in her final days of life, as she was bedridden and sick. However, it is a master piece, written in the first person of a horse of many names. The story will take you through his life, all of its ups and downs, and reaching the beautifully written ending.
I hope others enjoy it as much as I have. ♡♡♡

[Valeria Espitia Lozano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es un libro súper cortico, así que pensé que era una historia que iba a dar igual, pero la verdad si me hizo reflexionar en cómo tratamos a los animales que nos sirven.
Además que estoy tratando de recuperar mi nivel de inglés, por lo que lo leí en inglés para repasar y acordarme de cierto vocabulario.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This adaptation was written with parents reading to their kids in mind. It does a great job keeping true to the original without all the gangly bits kids may not understand or care for. I loved the book as a child and was happy to find a version to read to my kids.

[Mariana Ivette Banda López · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lo adoro definitivamente recuerdo mi infancia con esta historia, en todos los idiomas posibles. Veanse la pelicula.

[Charlotte Hendriks · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved it! the writing style is somewhat "old", but i loved evry bit of it! i flew trough this! (already red it 3 times :) )

[Gary Pinder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[Homonovus · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a pretty good story which follows the events in the life of a horse. Not very addictive but has a few good scenes and descriptions. All I can say is that it's a classic

[suf · Rating 5 out of 5]

one 0f my favourite books from childhood, made me love horses AND reading even more.

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not usually my type of book but I received it as a birthday present and I started reading, took me a while to get into but it was really good in the end.

[Adam Gutschenritter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wasn't completely sure how I would like this classic. Turns out I enjoyed it very much, great book for a younger audience.

[LizaKudrov · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ehhh

[Lowlow]

I was much younger but this will always be a favourite of books I've read in my childhood

[Alev Ulu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Küçük tatlı hikaye

[Kaiden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very easy and enjoyable to read. I think everyone should give it a try. I loved it ❤️

[Lilly (⁠*⁠´⁠ω⁠｀⁠*⁠) · Rating 1 out of 5]

it's better if black beauty died honestly

[Carolyn Prunkl · Rating 5 out of 5]

love horses this book is great