Leah's Pony

I love this book for many reasons. It was my favorite book as a child, and also because of the characters, the illustrations, and how the book pushes readers to think about tough issues. The book takes place during the Great Depression, which was accompanied by harsh weather conditions that make it difficult for farmers to grow crops. Leah's father is a farmer and encounters money problems with the bank due to a lack of crops from the last growing season as the weather was awful. This book makes readers realize how hard it was to live during this time period as they watch Leah's family have to auction off everything they own to pay back the bank, including their farming equipment. But, it also makes readers see the bonds people had as show more Leah sells her beloved pony and uses the money to buy her father's tractor so that her family will not have to move. This series of events makes readers consider how lucky they are not to live in that time period as it is a historical fiction book. The time period and events in the story are brought to life by the beautiful illustrations. The illustrations show how poor the conditions were as the corn in one picture is an inch tall compared to the corn in the beginning of the story, and how the fields Leah rides through are all brown and dusty. Readers are able to see the character's emotions on their faces to try and get an even better awareness of the struggles they are enduring. The characters are also very well written in the story, especially Leah. I love how readers get to watch her grow and mature as she realizes the struggles her family is facing and sells her most beloved possession to help her parents. In addition, the characters are believable for the time period as they all endure hardships that go along with the events at the time, and how they bond together to help one another out to make it through. Leah even gets her pony back from the man she sold it to as he knows how much she loves the pony and would never take it from her. The story and the characters teach us to persevere through hard times and to work together and help others. When we help others we can achieve great things, such as saving people's livelihoods, or their childhood friends. show less

Leah loves her pony. Together they ride through tall fields of corn and race across green pastures, chasing cattle under summer skies. But now the land is devastated by a terrible drought. Like many farmers, Leah's papa faces losing the family farm. Without corn to sell, he cannot repay his loan from the bank, which has put his farm and equipment up for auction. But when the auction day arrives, the crowd is surprised by the sight of Leah, who makes a bid for her father's tractor. She has raised the money by selling something very precious--her pony. Set in the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, Elizabeth Friedrich's deeply felt story, vividly portrayed through Michael Garland's stunning oil paintings, tells of one child and what she would show more sacrifice for love of her family. This story would be intended for the upper elementary grade levels. It could be used to introduce the Great Depression and to talk about the struggles that people went through during that time. show less

Leah gets a brand new pony to ride on her families farm. Soon enough their family begins to struggle with financial issues and has to start selling farm items and animals just to make it by. Leah's father is so upset about having to sell his tractor so Leah sells her brand new pony to get money to buy the tractor back in the auction. Once the guests of the auction see that Leah is trying to buy it back, one by one each guest cheaply buys all the items back for Leah's family. Leah's Pony teaches chldren the value of family and friends. With help from others you can make someone's life a lot easier, and in return you will get the help back. This was popular in yard auctions during the Great Depression.

Summary: This story is about a girls named Leah and her parents who are living on the Great Plains during the Great Depression. At the beginning Leah's father buys her a beautiful black and white pony that she rides around the farm and through town. She brushed him and made sure his coat always shined. The next year the corn did not grow and it was hard for Leah's parents to take care of all of the animals on the farm. Their neighbors left and headed west to Oregon in hopes of a better life. One day Leah's parents sat her down and told her that they were going to have a farm auction to pay back the bank for the money her father borrowed. Leah rode her pony into town and told the store owner Mr. B that he could buy her pony. She returned show more home after the auction had started. When the tractor came up for auction she bid the one dollar that she had been paid for her pony. No one else bid and the tractor was hers. Slowly their neighbors bought all of the parts of the farm and returned them to Leah's parents. The next day Leah went into the barn and Mr. B had returned Leah's pony.

Review: I read this book when I was younger and I have always enjoyed it. The author did a great job of explaining a major aspect of the Great Depression that is easy for young children to understand. This story could prompt many valuable discussions about the Great Depression and how it impacted the people who lived during that time. The author did a great job of using language and concepts that young children could easily understand. I feel like she wants the reader to understand how family is the most important thing no matter what hard times they are going through. She shows how a community can come together to support each other during difficult times. The illustrations also add a lot to the text. They are beautiful and simple and help the reader to get a better understanding of what was going on in the story. show less

Living on a farm with a horse is the wonderful life Leah is used to, but her world comes into compromise when the crops grow due to the dust bowl, knowing the only way to save her families farm is to sell her most prized possession. Will Leah's effort be all for nothing? Will she ever see or ride her horse ever again? I liked this book because it gives perspective to the sacrifices and hardships children had to face during the great depression. I recommend this book for elementary grades first through fifth.

I ordered this book thinking it would be the jolly adventures of Leah and her pony.

Well anyway no one knows if I cried or not. A story of self sacrifice and the Dust Bowl.

Leah's family has a hard time so they had to sell everything in a big action so Leah sold her horse to the grocery man to buy her dads tractor than all of the neighbors started to buy everything for a low price and gave it back to them and the grocery man returned her pony. I like this book and would use it in my classroom to show a good community. Grades 4-5.