"Horse Dreams" by Dandi Daley Mackall

About this book:

  “Fourth-grader Ellie James has a great imagination. She spends a lot of time daydreaming of owning a black stallion show horse and winning trophies in the horse show. But when the answer to all her dreams and prayers gallops into her life, will Ellie be able to recognize it? Join Ellie and her quirky family in their exciting, horse-loving adventures.”


Series: Book #1 in the “Backyard Horses” series.


Spiritual Content- 1 Samuel 16:7 at the beginning & Ephesians 3:20 at the beginning; Prayers; Singing a hymn; Talks about God; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God & God-things; Mentions of prayers & praying; A couple mentions of Sunday school classes; A mention of a blessing.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘crummy’ and a ‘stupid’; A bit of eye rolling; Mentions of animals being put to sleep & stun gunning a horse; A couple mentions of hating something; A couple mentions of jealousy;

             *Note: A few mentions of Club Scouts; A mention of Elvis.

Sexual Content- N/A

-Ellie James, age 9
                                P.O.V. switches between them
                                                        160 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{ Add ½ to a full star for young horse fans. }

What a nice, light read! Quite a bit of seeing Ellie’s faith as well, which is always good. Ellie is so cute! I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this one, so I do plan to read the next book in the series. :)

See y’all on Friday with a new review!

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

"Wild Thing" by Dandi Daley Mackall

About this book:

  “Twelve-year-old Winnie Willis has a way with horses. She can gentle the wildest mare, but other parts of her life don't always come as easily. Along with her dad and sister, Lizzy, Winnie is learning how to live without her mom, who was also a natural horse gentler. As Winnie teaches her horses about unconditional love and blind trust, God shows Winnie that he can be trusted too. Readers will be hooked on the series' vivid characters, whose quirky personalities fill Winnie's life with friendship and adventure.
  In #1 Wild Thing, Winnie's fearful heart finally begins to trust God again as she tries to gentle the horse of her dreams, Wild Thing.”


Series: Book #1 in the “Winnie the Horse Gentler” series.


Spiritual Content- Scriptures are mentioned, read, & quoted; Prayers; Talks about God; ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; Winnie’s had a tough time talking to God after her mom’s death; Mentions of God, His creation, & God things; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches, church going, hymns, & singing; A few mentions of Christians, finding Christ, & a Christian school; A couple mentions of Heaven.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: three ‘idiot’ and seven forms of ‘stupid’; A few mentions of curses (said, not written); A bit of sarcasm; Mentions of Winnie’s mom dying in a car accident & remembering seeing it (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of hurting, injured, & abused horses and dogs (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of manure; A few mentions of animals running into cars & bikes; A mention of someone trying to drown a litter of cats (they were saved); A mention of roadkill; A mention of vomiting; A mention of lying.

Sexual Content- A few mentions of having types & cute boys; A couple mentions of boyfriends & girlfriends.

-Winifred “Winnie” Willis, age 12
                                P.O.V. switches between them
                                                        192 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{ Add ½ star to a full star for those who like horses }

Our main girl is twelve years old and loves horses in this book. Winnie lost her mom to a car accident a couple years prior to the book starting and still feels guilt over it all. I truly wanted to hug Winnie at many times, the poor thing! She been through so much and was trying to talk to God again through this book. I liked all the faith content for such a small book. I might just have to try out the rest of the series since there’s such a unique cast of characters. :)

See y’all on Friday with a new review!

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.