Wilma Pitchford Hays (1907–2006)

A lonely little boy who has to commute to school as the only passenger on a supply train to and from a remote construction site sees a wild horse out the window that races alongside the train every day. But when winter sets in and the horse gets itself into a dangerous situation, it is up to the boy to energize the community to come to the rescue.

The heart of the story is solid, but the prose is so spare, stiff, and dull, it just kills my interest and enthusiasm. It's a product of the 1950s, show more and this reprint from the 1970s has been floating through the family collection for decades but its pristine condition and stiff spine testify to the fact that it was never read much by any of the children who had access to it. show less

Historical fiction for children, which I found very readable and lively until I got distracted halfway through by perplexity. The name of the protagonist, Peter Demo, seemed unlikely to the point of impossibility for a French child, and not until the epilogue did the author explain that it is the actual name of her great-great-great-great grandfather, whose story this is. His surname is "believed to have been de Mont" before it was anglicized; his forename of course was also anglicized when show more he settled in Vermont, but she doesn't say so. It would have been much better either to have explained this in the introduction or to have given him in the story the name he almost certainly used in his youth and avoid anachronism.

Good coverage of the internal squabbles and corruption which made it so difficult for Montcalm to defend Quebec, and very engaging scenes with the Abnaki. show less

Very early chapter book. Though probably contemporary at the time it was published (1967) it reads as historical fiction. Geese who eat grass but not cotton, and machines, are taking over the black sharecroppers' jobs. The white owner is not a bad man, but of course he has to mind his bottom line. Happy ending for the goose, the owner, and the family that we get to know... and we don't have enough text in the book to get to know others so ok.

Doesn't go into the issues too deeply. The issues show more do *not* include bigoted racism, and only vaguely allude to institutional racism.

Impulse grab at the library. I'd love to find more by Hays, esp. the ones illustrated by Wesley Dennis (add link feature not working).

Your library probably doesn't still have a copy. I can't recommend you buy it, as it's not that special, but do keep your eye out for any titles by the author in thrift sales, etc. show less

Sellards found this book to be riveting