Judy Van Der Veer (1912–1982)

Such neat little books have fallen out of print but still can be found in thrift stores. This is about a young Indian girl forging her own way as an artist and nature lover in the mountains in, I think, Southern California. Questions of race come up, but in a manner I've not seen elsewhere. Francie is a very sensitive child, and many young readers will identify with her angst - even though I wanted to tell her to 'get over' herself.

LFL find. I loved it, and would have done so even more as a child, hooked on [b:King of the Wind: The Story of the Godolphin Arabian|423156|King of the Wind The Story of the Godolphin Arabian|Marguerite Henry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1329982839l/423156._SX50_.jpg|2236675] and others by [a:Marguerite Henry|10652|Marguerite Henry|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1200683797p2/10652.jpg]. I was never a fan of horses to the point of wanting one, show more but I did like learning about them. And there's a lot to learn about horses, and about the scrublands and mountains, and about ranching, Indians, etc.

Speaking of Indians, there's actually a fairly subtle anti-racism message here. I loved the author's exploration of how all the different people interacted with each other.

But it's the children's clever and hard-working persistence against so many obstacles to take care of this mare and foal that drive the story. And it's enthralling. show less

I got this book in a package deal last year, and decided to give it a try, so I read it last night.

Mia is a well bred filly, worth money, but one day she escapes from her paddock and is courted by a 'scrub' stallion owned by a family on the adjacent reservation. Her owner is furious, and instructs his foreman to shoot the foal once it is born. But his instructions are overheard by the son of the foreman, who at the urging of a new friend, plans how to save the foal and mother.

The story is show more definitely aimed at adolescents, but it was believable, and I enjoyed it show less

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