Horses in History Series for Middle School Readers
My daughter let me know years ago that she enjoys reading stories about horses. I’m always on the lookout for good books for her. So I was excited to share Mattie Richardson’s Horses in History Series published by Author Mattie Richardson/Appaloosy Books with her.
Recently we were given the opportunity to review Mattie Richardson’s Horses in History Series.
Mattie Richardson is a young author who was once known as, “North Dakota’s Teen Author.” Mattie speaks at schools, and events, and is a musician as well as an author.
The first book she wrote was Appaloosy which is part of her Horses in History Series. Horse back riding is one of Mattie’s favorite hobbies so it’s no surprise she chose to write about these majestic creatures.
We along with other members of the Homeschool Review Crew received copies of Ms. Richardson’s Horses in History Series to share with our homeschooled children.
There are four books in this series and they are written for middle school aged children. Each books has a few pictures of historical places and some of the titles also include hand drawings.
What is unique about each of these books is that they are told from the horses point of view. You have to know a lot about horses in order to write in such a way!
About the Horses in History Series
- The first book in the series is Appaloosy. The story is about Storm who is an Appaloosa horse. Appaloosa horses are American horses with unique coloring. You can see an example of one in the artwork on the cover of the book which is drawn by David Sweep. The synopsis is that Storm belongs to the Nez Perce tribe but longs to be free. On an outing with his owner his situation changes and gets more adventure than he bargained for!
- Golden Sunrise is about a Palomino horse named Cheyenne. Palominos horses are golden in color with white tails. They can be various shades of golden and come from various different breed of horse. Cheyenne lives in Texas with her owner who enters the Alamo fight against the Mexican forces.
- Dusty’s Trail is about an American Quarter horse named Dusty. American Quarter horses get their names from being able to run really fast at short distances. Like a quarter of a mile. Dusty likes the quiet life but gets pulled into the wild Pony Express with his owner Levi!
- Day and Night is about two brother horses who are Morgans. Morgan horses are one of the oldest horse breeds in the US. The setting for these two brothers, Tucker and Shiloh, is during the tumultuous Civil War. The brothers find themselves on opposite sides of the war! Oh no! How will this end?
How did we like these books?
These books are really cute and enjoyable to read! I love the historical background and the point of view from the horses. My daughter really liked that as well. In addition to also giving some good historical tidbits each book has a glossary to get you familiar with some of the words of the time. In Golden Sunrise we also learned some Spanish words introduced at the beginning of the book.
Enrichment Guide
The book Day and night also includes an Enrichment Guide and an Answer Key.
This ninety eight page guide is separated by chapters. Each section goes through the reading comprehension, vocabulary words, history, background of a Soldier’s life, a craft to make, geography, and tidbits about horses in history. There is also a short writing exercise, and biography about a person who lived during that time period.
These books would make a great gift for a young reader!
Follow Mattie Richardson on Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Appaloosy7/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/appaloosybooks/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AppaloosyBooks
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Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
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