Black Beauty

Recently a little girl came in looking for classics to read. She had a paper from her school shaped like a shield/crest, and it was divided into sections, with each section having the title of a book and its author. Titles included Treasure Island and Mary Poppins, The Wizard of Oz and The Wind in the Willows. When we were looking for one of the titles, we passed by the S author last names. She reached up and touched Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, and I said, "That's my favorite," and she replied, with a sigh, "I know." She understood.

I love Black Beauty, and I hold it very close to my heart. It is one of the first books I ever read, the first book I read completely in English, and the first book that ever made my heart ache. It is also one of the greatest reasons why I love animals and think there should be stricter punishments for animal abuse. This was the version I had, a paperback Landoll Classic, which I am trying to purchase again:

It came with this matching Robinson Crusoe:

I can't tell you how happy I felt to hear that she loved this book so much. That was a great moment, and she was such an awesome kid. 

The January/February 2014 issue of The Horn Book Magazine has a really wonderful article titled "What Makes a Good Horse Book?" by Anita L. Burkam. It's such a wonderful article, I highly recommend it. There are so many great titles, and it is so neat to have learned that Ms. Burkam was a former riding instructor!