In this fourth book of the series about two horse-mad girls, Bonnie and Sam leave their small town to help out at the Royal Show with Cheryl, owner of the smart dressage horse Chocolate Charme. But from the train window they see a thin, neglected pony tied to a clothesline, and their efforts to save him from maltreatment provide the main storyline here. In an ending worthy of the Famous Five themselves, the pinto is eventually restored (with some help from the media) to the family from whom he had been stolen. All this occurs in very short chapters, just right for newly competent readers, and the author provides enough authentic details of mane-plaiting, hoof-polishing, extended trots and flawless canters to gladden any pony-crazed reader’s heart. Roland Harvey has always excelled at well-observed, detailed townscapes, but this series reveals his unexpected talent for drawing a range of horses with all their idiosyncrasies. It is good to have an Australian series so well targeted at readers who love ponies--even if only in books. This will appeal mostly to girls of about six to nine years old.

Robin Morrow was a specialist bookseller and now teaches and reviews children’s literature

Tags: pinto by alison lester