Shabby Sunday

I have a bunch of old vintage books and continue to acquire more. One of my plans when  starting this blog was to do a post every now and then sharing one of my cherished vintage books. I figured there might be other book bloggers out there with some vintage books, heirlooms, or maybe some old books from childhood that they might want to share.

This meme titled ‘Shabby Sunday’ is for those who would like to participate and share some of their old vintage books. Do you have some shabby books you’d like to share? If so, please feel free to participate as anyone can join. Feel free to use my meme image if you’d like to. If you decide to do this meme, please consider linking back to me in this post so that I can see the book you’re sharing.

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Last time I shared:

No Such Thing as a Witch

Today’s Shabby Share:

The Big Book of Favorite Horse Stories

Blurb:

Twenty-Five Outstanding Stories by Distinguished Authors.

Included stories:

The black stallion and the red mare by Gladys Francis Lewis —
The first race (from High courage) by C.W. Anderson —
My friend Flicka : the original short story by Mary O’Hara —
Beast of God by Cecilia Dabrowska —
Night Star by Stephen Holt —
The summer of the beautiful white horse by William Saroyan —
Two-bits of traffic C by Irving Crump —
The Royal Greens by Russell Gordon Carter —
Coaly-Bay, the outlaw horse by Ernest Thompson Seton —
Before Misty (from Misty of Chincoteague) by Marguerite Henry —
The gift (from The red pony) by John Steinbeck —
The seeing eye by Will James —
Trapped (from Vicki and the black horse) by Sam Savitt —
First day finish (from The friendly persuasion) by Jessamyn West —
The black horse by Jim Kjelgaard —
Metzengerstein by Edgar Allan Poe —
Easy does it! by Robert L. McGrath —
The winning of Dark Boy by Josephine Noyes Felts —
The horse of the sword by Manuel Buaken —
The adventures of Black Beauty (from Black Beauty) by Anna Sewell —
Indian fighter by Stephen Holt —
An imperial performance (from Florian, the emperor’s stallion) by Felix Salten —
Flame by Willis Lindquist —
Waif of the jungle (from The river horse) by Nina Ames Frey —
Cristiano by W.H. Hudson

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We found our copy of The Big Book of Favorite Horse Stories at a used book sale. We already had The Big Book of Favorite Dog Stories in our collection, and this book is very similar in format. Our copy is in good condition for its age. It’s possible that it once had a dust jacket, which we don’t have, but the cover is beautiful and fine without it.

This hardcover edition was published in 1985 by The Platt & Munk Company, with an original publication twenty years earlier. This printing is 336-pages in length with clear and easy-to-read text. I imagine that this was likely marketed as a children’s book. There are twenty-five stories included–some much longer than others. Each story has a single, black and white illustration by Sam Savitt. Some of the stories are merely excerpts from full-length books.

I’ve always loved horses, and my kids are fascinated by them too. They’re intelligent and affectionate creatures–that are, quite frankly–good for the soul. Some of my favorite books are stories about horses like Black Beauty, The Little White Horse, and The Black Stallion. What I appreciate about this collection is that it contains classic stories such as these but also a few not-so-familiar stories. It’s a diverse collection of people and horses from all different settings. The stories are from multiple countries as well.

One of the stories we enjoy is The Black Horse, by one of our favorite authors, Jim Kjelgaard. He often wrote stories about dogs and horses and nature in general. We are currently reading Big Red, and I’m drawn to this author’s writing once again as I was in childhood. The Black Horse is a story about a crippled man on a ranch who saves a rogue black horse from drowning. In turn, he wins the horse’s devotion, his very own cabin, and fifty acres of land.

“It was the biggest and most magnificent horse Jed had ever seen. He knew horses. Product of wastrel mother and father, victim of paralysis in his childhood, he had spent all of his life doing chores for Raglan and other stockmen in the hills. He had never earned more than ten dollars a month, but he had dreams and ambitions. If he could get only ten acres of land for himself, he would somehow or other procure a mare and make a living raising horses. That, for Jed, would be all he wanted of happiness.”

Another favorite is The Royal Greens by Russell Gordon Carter. This story takes place in 1777. A young boy named David, and his horse, Hobgoblin, conquer the Tories to the village, assembling the militia. In the end, David gets to keep his horse even though it was in danger of being sold.

“The suddenness of his charge took the Tories unawares. He saw green-clad figures hurriedly drawing apart in front of him. The wind sang in his ears. The woods rang with the clatter of hoofs and the shouts of men as Hobgoblin thundered downward–her haunches straining, her mane flying, sparks leaping outward from beneath her pounding feet.”

Who can forget The Gift by John Steinbeck? It’s one of the four sub-stories in The Red Pony. This short story is about Jody, a ten-year-old boy who’s just received the most beautiful gift from his father: A Red Pony.

“A red pony colt was looking at him out of the stall. Its tense ears were forward and a light of disobedience was in its eyes. Its coat was rough and thick as an Airedale’s fur and its mane was long and tangled. Jody’s throat collapsed in on itself and cut his breath short.”

Something else I appreciate is the short section after each story that shares more information about the author. How the authors were inspired to write the stories is included. Others explain how they grew up and their connection to horses. Also, the beginning of each story offers a tidbit that gives the reader an idea of what each story is about beforehand.

If you enjoy stories about horses or have kids that do, I highly recommend this book for your collection. Stories like these are short enough for young readers who might not have the attention span for longer books. They might actually inspire you to learn more about these authors and to seek out full-length books as well.

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Book Details:

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Platt & Munk
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Reading age ‏ : ‎ 10+ years
• Pages: 336
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0448426412

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Other blogs who have participated in Shabby Sunday:

Nicky@ An Introverted Bookworm

Claire@ Brizzle Lass Books

Author Didi Oviatt

Sassy Brit@ Alternative-Read

Brittany @ PerfectlyTolerable

Shari @ Sharisakurai.com

Jennifer @ Jennifertarheelreader.com

Lisa @ Way Too Fantasy

*Please stop by these blogs to check out all of their beautiful shabby shares!*

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Thanks for checking out Shabby Sunday! Have you read this book? Do you have any shabby books to share? Feel free to share your thoughts below.

♥️ Mischenko