Black Beauty

by Lisa Church (Abridged by), Anna Sewell, Karl James Mountford (Illustrations)

Black Beauty is the classic horse story, a beautiful and touching tale told by the title character himself.
 
Set in Victorian London, it follows Black Beauty’s life and changing fortunes as he moves from owner to owner. As the horse encounters new experiences and new friends who reveal their own histories, the story quietly paints a fascinating portrait of how animals were treated during that era.
 

Genres: Classics, Childrens, Fiction, Chapter Books, Animals, Young Adult, Childrens Classics

160 pages, Hardcover

Published January 17, 2023

About the author

https://www.facebook.com/lisachurchau...

Lisa Church is a mother of three, author of 12 books, graduate of Penn State University, and elementary teacher with over 30 years of experience. She resides in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania with her husband, children, a loyal crazy, a crazy cairn terrier, a cat named Phineas, and a kitten who could set a world-record for loudest and most constant purr.

Church is the author of a parenting guide, numerous curriculum materials, four juvenile fiction pieces, an adult murder mystery, a romance novel, and five abridged novels through Sterling / Barnes & Noble's well known Classic Starts Series. She continues to teach, write, and garner inspiration from her family, friends, and the world around her.

Publications
Everyday Creative Play: Simple Fun Things You Can Do to Help Your Preschooler Learn (Fairview Press, 1998)

Mystery on the Mayflower (PublishAmerica, 2001 & TurtleBack Books, 2002)

Be Careful What You Wish For (Perfection Learning Corporation, 2002)

The Secret of Fairwind Estates, A Silver Dagger Mystery (The Overmountain Press, 2003)

Black Beauty, Retold from the Anna Sewell Original (Sterling, 2005)

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Retold from the Jules Verne Original (Sterling, 2006)

Heidi, Retold from the Johanna Spyri Original (Sterling, 2007)

The Jungle Book, Retold from the Rudyard Kipling Original (Sterling, 2008)

Ballet Stories, Retold from the Classic Originals (Sterling, 2010)

Maddie's Secret (Astraea Press, 2013)

And coming soon......
The Diversion, Topaz Publishing

Home Alone, Astraea Press

Reviews

[Likitha Gopal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black Beauty is such a great book irrespective of your age. As an animal lover, I truly loved this book. Having been told in the perspective of a horse or more precisely an autobiography written by a horse, this book is just so touching. And it just portrays the kindness and the beauty of the horse, where in the horse goes through everything without complaining, even when its masters were very cruel, which will tear you apart. And if you are a person who just started inculcating a habit of reading books, then I feel this will be a good start. :)

[Nhi Nguyễn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cuốn này mình mua cùng một đợt với Brokeback Mountain và Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, England, 1544, hồi mình đi du lịch Campuchia năm 2012, mà giờ mới lôi ra đọc :D. Sách giá gốc gần 5 đô Mỹ và gần 8 đô Canada, giảm giá còn 2 đô, mình hốt luôn :)) Nghe danh câu chuyện "Black Beauty" đã lâu, giờ mới được biết tới nó, mặc dù chỉ là phiên bản kể lại và rút gọn (abridged version).

Sách đẹp, bìa cứng hẳn hòi, giấy tốt và dày dặn, câu chuyện thì dễ đọc (mục đích của bản rút gọn là để giúp trẻ em tiếp cận với tiểu thuyết kinh điển một cách dễ dàng hơn, tạo hứng thú hơn, thay vì đọc bản gốc, vốn nhiều chữ và có những từ mà chúng chưa biết :D). Mặc dù là sách dành cho thiếu nhi nhưng mình thấy, câu chuyện trong "Black Beauty" vẫn hàm chứa những điều mà người lớn hoàn toàn có thể cảm thụ được. Đặc biệt, cách kể chuyện từ điểm nhìn của chú ngựa Black Beauty càng làm rõ hơn, ám ảnh hơn sự tàn ác, bạo hành và ngược đãi mà chú cùng những con ngựa khác phải gánh chịu khi sinh ra là kiếp con vật, bị con người sử dụng sức lao động một cách tùy tiện và vô tâm.

Mình vốn rất thích ngựa, nhưng là ở mức nhìn ngắm chúng thôi, chứ lại gần nghe mùi hôi là mình muốn chạy biến :D Cơ mà đọc xong cuốn sách này, tự dưng thấy công việc chăm sóc ngựa khá thú vị ^^ Đặc biệt, loài ngựa có vẻ rất khôn, khi chúng chỉ nghe lời những người nào mà chúng tin tưởng. Nhìn mấy con ngựa bị cưỡi trên TV, phim ảnh hay ngoài đời thực, ắt hẳn bạn sẽ thấy bình thường. Nhưng đọc câu chuyện này xong, có lẽ bạn sẽ bắt đầu tự hỏi về những cảm nhận của chúng, về quá khứ và những trải nghiệm mà chúng đã trải qua, liệu rằng chúng có đang bị bạo hành, hay là được đối xử tử tế...

[Darkredrum/Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story might not be the best of all but it was the one that my English teacher threw when I was being bullied for my skin color. That day the jokes about me looking "burnt" escalated too far that he stepped in and read this book's title out loud and threw it at me. That was enough to silence my racist classmates, that was also when I first took an interest in reading. Before then I used to skip through words never letting my mind capture the story. But this story which now I embarrassingly forgot *turns away* is the one that I analyzed word to word.

It made me feel beautiful in my skin for the first time.

[Karim Elmenshawy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another story that i don't like it , but I have to teach it for my lovely students ..I go out of my way for you! .Lol 😂

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been of the opinion that abridge versions are lame. BUT!!! Bea picked up this book AND IS READING IT. She LOVES that it is the "REAL BOOK" but that the lines are separated enough for her eyes to read them easily and that there aren't too many lines on the page. This is the first REAL chapter book she has attempted and I am over the moon with excitement. She says she doesn't understand every word but the words she doesn't get aren't important :-) Yeah - me too! So, label me a new abridged version classics fan!

Updated: Bea finished it and is pretty darn proud of herself. Yay for that.

[Costanza · Rating 3 out of 5]

The "Classic Starts" books are really easy books to that I read in primary school. They are really fun for children that don't know much about the classics and I still remember how much I enjoyed them!! :)

[علآ المسلمانى · Rating 3 out of 5]

Black Horse for Anna Sowell
From classic novels to everyone, the hero of the story is black Beauty, the narrator of the details he lives in. He tells us the world from his point of view and tells us the horses' trainings and adventures between the owners who own him and the difficulties he faces.
In my view, it was a moving and painful story that highlighted human beings' treatment of cruelty, compassion and kindness, as well as useful information about raising and caring for horses in a beautiful and easy language.
There was a painful quote that black Beauty told one of his horses friends
  "Man is stronger than us, and if he is harsh, we have no power or strength; we have to bear to die ..."

The translation is excellent and the initial experience will never be the last

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, I said “yes” when children asked me to “read along” with them. (The book’s version – middle-school level and up – uses updated language from the 1877 original.) Narrated by a horse, Black Beauty, I was a little surprised that the book could be enjoyed by an adult. Set in Victorian England, it follows the life of the horse – an autobiography – which turns out to be representative of all of the horses of the times. The reader experiences horses’ various ‘occupations’ as well as their individual use and abuse, care or lack thereof, etc. – all in service to their human masters. It also provides the reader with a deep understanding of ‘kindness’. This book is a classic and will continue to be read as long as children like horses.

[Paisley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it!!I read it for a book club,At first I didn’t really want to read the book,But then I started and I loved it.But before I read “Black Beauty” the retold version,I was reading the original one.It had a lot of hard words that I haven’t leaned yet.So of course I was struggling with it,So I started reading the retold version and it was much easier.

-About the book
I hated how poorly Black Beauty was treated with some of his owners,But I’m glad he had some kind owners who treated him correctly.
I love the end where he finds an amazing owner,I’m so glad that Willie convinced his Grandfather to buy Black Beauty.


Sorry if I placed the punctuations in the wrong place I’m still learning

[Airmoon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mi è piaciuto molto. Fa riflettere e critica la società. Un manifesto verso il trattamento giusto degli animali che con amore lavorano sodo per noi. L'ho letto in inglese e a parte il vocabolario riguardo l'equipaggiamento dei cavalli e stallieri direi che è stato abbastanza facile seguire il flusso della storia. Alcune parti per gli amanti dei cavalli, e degli animali in generale, possono essere davvero toccanti.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really solid Classic Start book. Some of the others we've read recently have been boring and pointless. This one seemed like a faithful retelling. It did a good job and was incredibly heart wrenching.

We were worried about Black Beauty and wanted the best for him, it was sad every time he got sold.

My kids were invested and wanted to keep reading. Well worth the time to read this book.

[Danya Dimashqi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story from the perspective of a horse... It was a different reading experience...



"Do you know why this world is as bad as it is?"
"No," said the other.
"Then I'll tell you.
It is because people think only about their own business. It won't trouble themselves to stand up for the oppressed. They also don't bring the wrong doer to light. I never saw a wicked thing like this...."

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

A classic for a reason. Black Beauty is such a loveable horse and it is sad to see all the people taking horses for granted and mistreating them. Also it is wonderful to see and hear from people that value horses and stand up for them!

[eloise (2026 winter volleyball version) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very sweet, shortened version of the original Black Beauty. I read many times and still enjoy it today!! Would recommend to people who like the classic, but don't have the time to sit and read it for hours. This was a quick read and is also good for children.

[Rupert Tamayo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book in a bargain and I'm so lucky to have this copy. The retelling technique was so easy to read with a heartwhelming perspective of a horse. I truly believe we learned a lot from Black Beauty.

[Zoey Kennedy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this in the fourth grade and pretty much fell asleep the whole time so it's a "classic" and yeah it cam be a good story but i advise you to just watch the movie, (but from you to me I wouldn't know I don't remember 😂)

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun sweet book to read with the kids.

[Tayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure I would like it but I did. I won't look at horses the same way again. Talks of good values and you can feel the emotion.

[Joan Morin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this out of curiosity because I had not read it as a child and now my eight year old granddaughter is interested in horses. We read most of it together. Glad to have read a classic with her.

[Ali Chakir · Rating 5 out of 5]

read this as a child (not this edition)
made me cry a few times

[Waaki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who name him black beauty

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Animal lovers might love this. Great story.

[Ava Bird · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few years ago, I used to read this book over and over again..... I still remember most of it. Five stars. Now, I must read the original version..........

[Nehal · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful story with a deep message perfectly portraying the cruelty of man and hardships of animals.

[Dakota Smith]

(A book with a non-human narrator)

[Anja · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really interesting and the ending qas sad, but this is more of a kids book so i recoment it to someone under the age of 12 or anyone that wants to feel like a kid again

[Anupriya Chaubey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic!!

[Laura McCarty-Daniels · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked that the person figured out that the horse shoe had fallen off.

I didn't like that Black Beauty had to be sold off away from his owners.

[Charlotte Burrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad but good

[Alinnarossa · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was not bad. i like horses & that's why i picked the book plus the rating was great. the reason why anna sewell wrote the original book would be more interesting to hear than this story i guess.