Fiction for older readers. Unless otherwise noted, all books may be found in the juvenile fiction section, arranged by the author’s last name.

One unhappy horse by C.S. Adler
Jan’s beloved horse needs an operation that her family can’t afford. Grades 5+

 National Velvet by Enid Bagnold
A 14-year-old English girl rides in the Grand National steeplechase.  Grades 5+

 Touch the moon by Marion Dane Bauer
A  china horse magically comes alive. Grades 3—6

 Little Horse  by  Betsy Byars
When Little Horse falls into a stream he gets taken farther and farther from the safety of his home. Grades 2—4

 Stealing Thunder by Mary Casanova
Libby decides to steal an abused horse in order to ensure his safety. Grades 4-6

 Sandmare by Helen Cooper
A  horse that drawn in the sand comes to  life.  Grades 2-4

 All their names were Courage by Sharon Phillips Denslow
A Civil War soldier’s  sister writes to Confederate and Union generals asking about their horses.  Grades 4 -6

 The Island of Horses by Eil's Dillon
Two boys from a remote island off the Irish coast travel to the forbidden Island of Horses.  Grades 5+ 

 The black stallion by Walter Farley
After he is shipwrecked on a desert island, a young boy befriends a wild horse. The first in a series.  Grades 5+

 The blue roan child by Jamieson Findlay
In this fantasy, an eleven-year-old orphan  helps  a wild horse rescue her two kidnapped colts . Grades  5+

 No small thing by Natale Ghent
A Canadian boy and his sisters find that their  pony makes it easier to cope with their poverty. Grades  5+

The girl who loved wild horses by Paul Goble
A Native American girl prefers to live among the wild horses.
Grades K-3-picture book j ES GOBLE

 Blood red horse by K.M. Grant
Hosanna, a red stallion chosen by an English boy to be his warhorse when he joins the Crusades, is also admired by boy in the Saracen army. The first in the
de Granville Trilogy.  Grades 6+

 Toby the splendid by Isabelle Holland
A thirteen year old girl buys a horse with her babysitting money. Grades 6+

 The horse from the sea : an epic horse story by Victoria Holmes.
In 1588, an Irish girl risks her life to rescue a boy and a stallion from a Spanish shipwreck. Grades 5+

  Rider in the dark : an epic horse story by Victoria Holmes
A mysterious stallion helps a teenage girl save her family when they are put in danger by a secret in 18^th century England. Grades 5+

 The first horse I see by Sally M. Keehn.
Willo tries to train a special horse which had been abused. Grades 5+

 The black horse by Marianna Mayer
A poor Irish prince and a mysterious horse help a Princess  escape the wicked Sea King .  Grades 3—6—j 398.2 IRELAND May

 My friend Flicka by Mary O’Hara
A young boy’s  devotion to the colt Flicka teaches both him and his father  lessons about responsibility and respect.  Grades 5+

 Horse thief: a novel by Robert Newton Peck.
In 1938, with the help of an elderly horse-thief, a 17-year-old orphan steals thirteen doomed horses from a failing rodeo.  Grades 6+

 Blind beauty by K.M. Peyton.
Tessa's love of horses and riding help her endure an unhappy life with a hateful stepfather.  Grades 5+

 Stealaway by K.M. Peyton
At on old Scottish castle, a horse  is threatened by ghosts.  Grades 4-6

 The fire pony by Rodman Philbrick
Two brothers find a temporary home on a horse ranch, where one is given a pony to train, all the while worrying when the trouble that follows his older brother will find them both.  Grades 5+

 Willow King : race the wind by Chris Platt
Kate is determined to ride her horse in the Kentucky Derby despite her physical handicap. Grades 4-6

 The Blind Colt  by Glen Rounds.
A blind colt is  adopted and trained as a saddle horse by ten-year-old boy. Sequel: Stolen Pony.  Grades 3-5

 Lucky Lady by Susan Saunders
While visiting her grandfather's ranch in Texas, a twelve-year-old girl buys a horse and then must  figure out how to train her.  Grades 3—7

To race a dream by Deborah Savage
In 1906, fifteen-year-old Theodora disguises herself as a boy in order to fulfill her dream of  becoming a harness-racing driver. Grades 6

 Horse sense : the story of Will Sasse, his horse Star,
and the outlaw Jesse James
by  Jan Neubert Schultz.
Will joins a posse looking for the outlawed James gang after they steal his beloved mare. Grades 5+

 Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
A horse in nineteenth-century England recalls the adventures in his life with good and bad owners. Grades 5+

 Gib and the gray ghost by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
In 1909, 11-year-old Gib’s almost magical way with horses helps him adjust to life on the Thornton ranch. Sequel to Gib Rides Home. Grades 4—7

 Colt by Nancy Springer
A young boy with spina bifida enters a physical therapy horseback riding program.
Also other books by this author. Grades 4—6

 Grand National by John R. Tunis
An American father is determined to fulfill his dead son's wish to win the Grand National steeplechase race in England.  Grades 4-6

Beauty by Bill Wallace
When he moves to his Grandfather’s Oklahoma ranch,  Luke finds a new friend in  a horse named Beauty.  Grades 3-6

The ghost stallion  by Laura E. Williams
Mary Elizabeth wants to save a wild stallion’s life.  Grades 5—7

Collections of stories about horses:

  Horse tales by June Crebbin

 If you had a horse : steeds of myth and legend by Margaret Hodges
Grades 5+ - j 398.24 Hod

 Black Beauty and other horse stories edited by Paul J. Horowitz Fourteen

 The Kingfisher book of horse & pony stories by Jenny Oldfield

 Classic horse & pony stories chosen by Diana Pullein-Thompson

 My kingdom for a horse : an anthology of poems about horses
edited by Betty Ann Schwartz  j 811.08 Sch. Grades 1—4

 Music of their hooves : poems about horses by Nancy Springer
j 811 Spr . Grades 3—6

Selected Authors:

 Elisa Bialk   ~    Series:  Tizz (Grades 2-4)

 Joanna Campbell   ~   Series:  Thoroughbred (Grades 4-6)- j pb T

 Lucy Daniels  ~   Series:  Horseshoe Trilogies (Grades 3-5 ) j pb D

 Kathleen Duey   ~   Series:  Hoofbeats (Grades 4-6),
                                         Spirit of the Cimarron (Grades 3-5)
                                         Unicorn’s Secret (Grades 2-4)

 Walter Farley   ~   Series:  The Black Stallion (Grades 5+)

 Jessie Haas

  Marguerite Henry    ~   Series:  Misty of Chincoteague (Grades 4-7)

  Anna Sewell   ~    Series:  Black Beauty (Grades 5+)

  Nancy Springer

  Walt Morey

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Look for these and other great books in
The Children's Library
Mt. Lebanon Public Library
16 Castle Shannon Blvd.
Pittsburgh, PA 15228
412/531-1913      4.06
www.mtlebanonlibrary.org