Review by Booklist Review
In this fanciful picture-book frolic, a child imagines what their daily life would be like as a horse. Simply stated declarative sentences are delivered with aplomb: "If I was a horse, I would gallop all day. I could go anywhere I want, and I'd come home when I was hungry." Full of deadpan comedic flair, two-time Caldecott medalist Blackall's resplendent watercolor, gouache, pencil, fabric, and wallpaper illustrations showcase a majestic spotted steed gigantically smack dab in the middle of familial domestic scenes, like eating a lunch of sandwiches and carrots at the kitchen table and sleeping standing up on top of a twin bed where pony stickers decorate the headboard. The humorous incongruity continues as the narrator gives their sister a bareback ride to school and impresses the swim team by leaps and bounds in the pool. After horsing around in the rain and tracking muddy shoe prints into the house, the child declares, "Nobody could make me take a bath." Living the dream, with high-hoofing defiance, they also say nay to wearing clothes, unless in a parade. Charming and whimsical visual surprises are found throughout the impeccably designed pages, from decorative floral endpapers to the sparkly tutu and party hat on the cover. An exquisite equine fantasy, this encourages imaginations to giddyup and run wild and free.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In an amusing meditation on self-determination, a young narrator imagines being free of the rules of childhood and family life--by dint of becoming a horse. Caldecott Medalist Blackall begins, "If I was a horse, I would gallop all day.// I could go anywhere I want,// and I'd come home when I was hungry." One accompanying spread shows a bay horse with a spray of white spots across its back entering a kitchen and grazing on a sandwich. A younger sibling giggles; an older sibling, absorbed in a book, notices nothing. The speaker describes giving their sister a ride to school (halting just shy of the entrance to munch flowers); swimming, goggle-clad, in a race ("Everyone/ would want me on their team"); and looking skeptically at a caregiver proffering both a bath and garments ("If I was a horse, I wouldn't wear clothes"). After bedtime, the real voice behind the words is revealed. Throughout this cozy view of longed-for freedoms in childhood, Blackall's signature-style illustrations summon giggles about the comic ill-suitedness of horses to the human-scale world. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4--8. Agent: Nancy Gallt, Gallt & Zacker Literary. (Oct.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2--A whimsical picture book that embarks on a journey of imagination. The story follows a child's imaginative transformation into a horse, where they envision all the possibilities being a horse would bring. The lyrical text is deceptively simple. While it seems to just be about being a horse, the story really opens the readers' minds to all the wonders of their imagination. Blackall's expressive art is the real star of the book. The mixed-media illustrations infuse the text with a sense of play and wonder. VERDICT A wonderful reminder of the power of imagination and a launching point for story hour discussions.--V. Lynn Christiansen
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Review by Horn Book Review
A horse-obsessed child imagines all the things they could do if they were a horse. "I could go anywhere I want, and I'd come home when I was hungry." The earnest text is about a young person's desire to have more control over their life, while Blackall's fanciful mixed-media illustrations insert a brown and white dappled horse into a child's world. We see the horse wearing goggles jumping into a pool at a swim meet ("and everyone would want me on their team") and clad in a party hat and tutu marching through the living room ("I wouldn't wear clothes, unless I was in a PARADE"). While the text is restrained, the illustrations are detailed and nuanced: a garden hose is abandoned on the lawn, a knitting bag sits on the floor, and a plunger appears next to the toilet. Pictures of horses on the child's bedroom wall help explain that particular choice of metaphor, and there are hints of the narrator's special bond with their younger sister. There's a sensitive heart and a sharp eye in the humor here, creating a book that is good for more than just a laugh. Adrienne L. PettinelliSeptember/October 2023 p.46 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Oh, to be a horse! Shakespeare's Richard III begged for one, going so far as to offer his kingdom. This delightful book proposes the idea--if ever so briefly and if only in the imagination--of being one. Think of what you could try, see, and do--or not do--if you were a horse. What fun! What, ahem, unbridled freedom could be had! Each page in this charmer contains one easy sentence or phrase that expresses an idea about "horsiness," allowing very young listeners or emergent readers to focus on the clear, simple language and to follow up with their own imaginative responses. The young narrator muses about what life would be like as a horse: galloping all day long, rolling around in the mud, giving a (human) sibling a ride to school, and getting to run around without clothes on ("unless I was in a PARADE"). Grown-ups sharing the book in a one-on-one or group setting should encourage children to engage in rich, speculative conversation about the advantages and disadvantages of being a horse. The colorful, sweet, gently humorous illustrations depicting an unfettered horse running freely and also in cozy, familial, and neighborhood settings were created with watercolor, gouache, pencil, fabric, and wallpaper and assembled digitally. The protagonist's human family is brown-skinned; other humans are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.) There'll be no neigh-sayers for this one. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
