Kelly Milner Halls is a full-time children's writer, specializing in quirky topics for reluctant readers. Kelly lives in Washington with her two daughters, one dog, too many cats, and a four-foot rock iguana. Phil Parks has been illustrating books for the past twenty years. He lives in Michigan with his wife Cynthia and their two daughters.
Book 1 in the Animal Rescues series tells the story of a
home-schooled teen and the wild mustang she buys. Fourteen-year-old
Annie works at Top Tier Stable, an upscale barn in Colorado, and
saves up her tips to buy a horse of her own. At the auction she
attends with Jack, the stable manager, Jack bids on an unbroken
4-year-old mare to keep it from being acquired by the Butcher, a
woman reputed to resell horses for dog food. Annie names the mare
Poco and under Jack's tutelage, learns to train her with kindness
and trust. Meanwhile, she tries to ignore the jibes of the
obnoxious Peggy, a girl about Annie's age who boards an expensive
horse at the stable. Jack tells Annie that Peggy has problems of
her own, but Annie is disbelieving until she sees it for herself.
When Peggy's valuable thoroughbred goes missing, Annie and Jack
begin to suspect foul play. Halls writes in a brisk, competent
style, and Annie's present-tense narration is straightforward.
Themes of initiative and understanding are presented skillfully if
fairly predictably. With the exception of an implausible decision
near the end inserted for tension (why wait hours to check the
surveillance footage after a valuable horse has been lost?), the
story wraps up satisfyingly, with a bit of a twist regarding the
Butcher. Uncomplicated reading done well.--Kirkus Reviews--
"Journal" (9/15/2015 12:00:00 AM)
Working hard for the Top Tier stable pays off for Annie when she is
able to buy her own horse, a small buckskin mare she names Poco.
With the assistance of Jack Manley, the manager of the stable, she
is training Poco to wear a saddle and bridle and accept a rider.
Annie is in seventh heaven until another, very valuable horse goes
missing. The horse does eventually return, but he is seriously
injured. After that, the stable catches fire, and Annie is
instrumental in saving most of the horses. In the aftermath, all
loose ends are tied up, and the people responsible for the fire are
caught. The plot is elegant in its simplicity while also keeping up
a compelling pace, and the characters are convincing and well drawn
with subtle complexity. With an accessible, straightforward
first-person narrative, this high/low title will be a good
selection for struggling readers. Annie's heartening connection
with horses and the nicely crafted narrative, however, would make
this appealing for anyone who enjoys a good horse
story.--Booklist-- "Journal" (11/15/2015 12:00:00 AM)
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