If a horse had words

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Title:

If a horse had words

Author:

Cooper, Kelly, 1963- author.

Eldridge, Lucy, illustrator.

Summary:

"For horse-loving readers of all ages, a lyrical and exquisitely illustrated picture book following the relationship between a boy and a horse, separated then reunited. This is a story about enduring friendships and how language is shaped by our experiences."-- Publisher's description.

Physical Description:

1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 26 cm

Genre:

Picture books.

Subject Term:

Horses -- Juvenile fiction.

Human-animal relationships -- Juvenile fiction.

Friendship -- Juvenile fiction.

Author(s):

Eldridge, Lucy,

Publisher:

Tundra,

Publication Date:

2018

ISBN:

9781101918722

Publication Information:

[Toronto] : Tundra, [2018]

Call Number:

P COOPER

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003329128	Picture Books	COOPER	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Red Badger is a newborn foal learning to stand when she slips and gets stuck in a muddy badger hole. It is a young boy who frees her, and his kindness and gentleness mark the beginning of their friendship - though she will always be wary of the ground that briefly trapped her. As the seasons pass on the ranch, Red Badger learns more about her world: Fall is leaf rustle and fence posts. Winter is white hills and long nights. The boy is hay, a gentle touch, playing in the snow and the sweet smell of peppermints. If a horse had words, the word would be... friend.

Author Notes

KELLY COOPER grew up in the tiny farming community of Senlac, Saskatchewan, where she vaccinated, branded and ear-tagged cattle, sorted calves on foot and on horseback, drove cattle to pasture on horseback and drove a tractor and a three-ton truck. Kelly later moved to New Brunswick and now lives on a dairy farm with one husband, two daughters, a hundred cows, many cats and two donkeys. Kelly has years of experience teaching language arts and visual arts and has worked with students of all ages. She has written for radio, and her poetry, short fiction and creative non-fiction have been published in a number of Canadian literary journals and several anthologies. She has previously published a collection of linked stories, Eyehill . This is her first book for children.

LUCY ELDRIDGE is a traditional artist who works primarily in watercolor and gouache to create beautiful, whimsical illustrations. She finds inspiration for her work from a variety of things, including pebbles found on the beach, biscuits, origami paper, dictionaries, maps, Chinese brush painting, clouds, trees, trinkets and cats. Lucy illustrated the middle-grade novel Welcome to Nowhere by Elizabeth Laird. This is her first picture book. She is based in Brighton, UK.

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

K-Gr 3-When the foal is born she takes in her surroundings. As she stands for the first time, her back legs are stuck in a muddy hole, but a young boy and his dad come to help her free; still, she's forever fearful of the ground. As she grows into a horse, she has many experiences with the boy, running and jumping, and watching the seasons pass. Eventually, readers learn her name, Red Badger, and in her dislike of the ground, she accidentally bucks the boy off her back. His dad decides to sell Red Badger and she ends up at the rodeo. The boy, now older, arrives to ride at the rodeo. They recognize each other and their reunion brings them both incredible joy. This book is written in a poetic and lyrical manner, from the perspective of the horse. The watercolor illustrations give the book a dreamy quality, which fits perfectly with the text. VERDICT A solid and engaging choice for horse lovers or anyone who has ever bonded with an animal.-Shana Shea, Windsor Public Library, CT © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publisher's Weekly Review

In her first book for children, Canadian author Cooper offers a tale of a foal and her boy that blends the scope of a novel with the grace of a poem. Born on a spring morning, the foal tries out her long legs and sinks into a badger hole, from which she's hauled out by a man and his freckled, cowboy-hatted companion: "If a horse had words," Cooper writes, in a phrase that serves as the story's title and leitmotif, "the word would be... boy." Boy and foal watch the seasons change contentedly together until one day, the boy tries to ride her, and she tosses him. She has to go, the man says, and, in a wrenching moment, she's auctioned off. But she meets the boy again in a triumphant moment that redeems their separation. Cooper's lilting voice dances through the story, while folk-naive watercolors by Eldridge, in her picture-book debut, capture the foal's lovely lines. Readers drawn to stories about the unbreakable bonds between children and animals will remember this one. Ages 4-8. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.