Riding Lesson

Saddle Club #36

by Bonnie Bryant

Rivalinnen im Reitstall - bk1053; Otto Maier verlag; Bonnie Bryant; Paperback; 2004

Genres: Horses, Young Adult, Animals, Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

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

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carole and her father have a house guest for a week. Carole is excited about it at first, because she is an only child and has always wanted a sibling. In true fashion, sibling jealousy raises its head almost immediately. Her dad pays a lot of attention to the other girl, trying to make her stay welcoming and comfortable. Her friends throw her a party at the stable, which got Carole all bent out of shape. This was an alright book, and goes to show that jealousy does not discriminate.

[Sue Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great book
love the series
love the horse stories

[Tarissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

In book 36 of the Saddle Club series, Carole Hanson is getting a "temporary sister" for a couple of weeks. Marie Dana will be staying with the Hansons while Mrs. Dana takes an international trip. Everything seems on the up-and-up for the Saddle Club, including plans for a sleepover at Pine Hollow (sounds like fun to me!) -- until jealous emotions start taking over, along with something Carole has never experienced before... sibling rivalry. Fun read!

[Hazel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good series for horse crazy young teens. I loved it when I was younger.