Jane Smiley is the author of the Horses of Oak Valley Ranch series, as well as many novels for adults and three works of nonfiction. She won the Pulitzer Prize for A Thousand Acres.Smiley's new book for young readers is Riding Lessons.
One of the author's top ten books about horses, as shared at the Guardian:
National Velvet by Enid BagnoldRead about another entry on the list.
When I first read National Velvet, I read it for the horse; now I read it for the portrayal of Velvet’s eccentric family. Of course, the arc of Velvet’s Grand National win is utterly unbelievable, but her siblings, her parents and Mi are people oftheir time and place, making do with their muddy and odd circumstances. I love how frank Bagnold is, but also how she folds the unbelievable parts, such as Velvet’s run, into vivid, believable details of weather, chaos and chance events.
Also see Monique Alice's six top books for grownup horse lovers, Molly Schoemann-McCann's nine favorite books about horses, Belinda Rapley's top ten horse books, and Megan Wasson's eight great books about horses.
--Marshal Zeringue
Posts
