Birthday Pony
Grade 2-4&ndash;Haas continues the story of characters introduced inRunaway Radish(Greenwillow, 2001). For Jane's birthday, Grandma Aggie buys back the stubborn pony she sold years before. Popcorn is still spoiled rotten but is lovable, and the 10-year-old adores him. She must learn to tame Popcorn in order to ride him, and with the help of her grandmother and a month at a summer riding camp she does. Sentences are short and prose style and vocabulary are accessible to youngsters who are making the transition from beginning readers to chapter books. This delightful story is enhanced by Apple's black-and-white pencil drawings, which are reminiscent of Wesley Dennis's illustrations in Marguerite Henry's books. A horse story perfect for younger readers.&ndash;Kristina Aaronson, Henniker Community School, NHCopyright &copy; Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.