The lost and found pony

Tracy Dockray

Book - 2011

"The pony is a dream come true for a little girl. But the dream shatters when he is taken from her. Though time passes as the pony makes the best of his new life in the circus, he never stops hoping to find the little girl. And the girl never stops looking for him"--Dust jacket.

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Location Call Number   Status
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Subjects
Genres
Picture books
Published
New York : Feiwel and Friends 2011.
Language
English
Main Author
Tracy Dockray (-)
Edition
1st ed
Physical Description
unpaged : ill
ISBN
9780312592592
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

The illustrator of The Barefooted, Bad-Tempered Baby Brigade (2010) offers here a story about a young pony pleased to become a birthday gift for a girl who rides competitively. When she outgrows him, he is sold to a circus, where he performs tricks with a clown. Finally, when he becomes too old to jump through flaming hoops, the little girl now a grown woman purchases him to work with the young children who ride at her stable. Dockray's watercolor-and-pencil illustrations focus on the pony's emotional eyes and make use of multiple scenes on single spreads in order to convey more of the story's action. Although the book's parallels to Black Beauty will probably be lost on the intended audience, readers will still appreciate the pony's adventures and his steadfast desire to one day be reunited with the little girl. Pair with Susan Jeffers' My Pony (2003) for one-on-one sharing with would-be equestrians.--Weisman, Ka. Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review

PreS-K-The little pony at the heart of this surprisingly affecting story is thrilled when he becomes a little girl's perfect birthday present. He loves jumping and running with her on his back-until the day he encounters a jump too high. The little girl falls, and he is declared too small for her. Her parents sell him to the circus, where he brings joy to thousands of children, but he never forgets his first owner. When the circus closes down and he is sold at auction, who should buy him but the little girl, now an adult and running a stable of her own. In lesser hands, the story would be pure schmaltz, but the simple, straightforward narrative in the pony's voice, combined with Dockray's soft, expressive watercolor and ink illustrations, makes it truly heartwarming.-Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review

When the pony narrating this heartwarming picture book is outgrown by his beloved girl, he's sold but finds a new home in a circus. When the circus is broken up years later, the pony faces auction again--but ends up with the girl (now grown) he's missed all this time. Warm illustrations expand on the emotions in the concise text. Copyright 2010 of The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A small pony recounts his melodramatic life.The nameless pony is first given to a little girl on her birthday.They compete over fences and win, until they try a jump thatis "just too high." The girl falls off, and her angry parents sell the pony to a circus, where for years he partners with a dwarf in a clown act. When the circus disbands, the pony, now old, thinand pathetic, is sold at auction. His original little girl, now grown,happens to beat the same auction. She recognizes him, and, of course, they live happily ever after. At 48 text-heavy pages, it's long for a picture book, andthepacesuffers accordinglyseveral scenes, such as the opening with the pony and hisdam in a field, take up a lot ofpages but don't move the story forward. The emotional tone often feels forced or misplaced,as when the circusfails because the audience "stayed home, playing video games,"and the perspective seems more adult than child-friendly. Dockray's watercolor illustrations are better than her text.Animals and people are both lifelike and full of emotion, and she varies perspective and tone to convey changing moods. Overall, it's hard to see an appropriate audience for this onesmall children won't sit through it, older ones will be bored.You can only say, "Oh, the poor pony!" so many times. (Picture book. 5-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.