Review from my 11 year old: “Black Beauty is a horse raised on a nice little farm and has many homes and adventures. The story is from Beauty’s perspective in an impressive four part book. My least favorite part was when it ended. It’s a joy to follow Beauty’s life from good owners like Jerry to bad owners. This is a book anybody should enjoy. The illustrations are beautiful. I really like Jerry he was nice and had a good ethic . My least favorite part was when it ended. What’s not to love?”

*he said he loved it as much as Narnia. ( )

Another classic that is well written and well narrated. Loved it as a young adult and as an adult.

FROM AUDIOBOOKS.COM: Black Beauty is an 1877 novel by English author Anna Sewell. It was composed in the last years of her life, during which she remained in her house as an invalid. The novel became an immediate best seller, with Sewell dying just five months after its publication, but having lived long enough to see her only novel become a success. With 50 million copies sold, Black Beauty is one of the best-selling books of all time. While forthrightly teaching animal welfare, it also teaches how to treat people with kindness, sympathy, and respect.

FROM AMAZON: A jet-black young colt, Black Beauty, spends his early years in a cozy meadow growing up with a gentle master, a strong mother and an ideal upbringing. Through the years, he changes hands with different masters some rough, some kind, some indifferent. Black Beauty's experiences throughout his life give him lessons on real friendship, loss, hardship and human nature. Gallop with Black Beauty as he grows into a worn yet mature and handsome, dutiful and loyal old horse. ( )

When I read this story as a kid, I could not get past the fire. When I got to that part of Beauty's life, I closed the book and never opened it again. Maybe I felt that bad things were going to happen to him. I don't like bad things happening to animals and believe that humans are the worst of all animals. This time I got all through and enjoyed it. The story was definitely written for young folk, although I doubt that many of today's kids would bother to understand the different rigs used by cabbies and carters such that they might appreciate what Ms. Sewell is telling them. If today's kids appreciate the message at all, they would have gotten it from some other source. ( )

Talking horse. ( )

I have just re-read this after many, many years. What a marvellous book. Miss Sewell wanted to give Victorian society a wake-up call about how it treated its horses, then so necessary for commerce and travel. She succeeded perfectly.
The story flows realistically, the characters and their ways of speaking are natural and believable, and we can even suspend our disbelief easily and hear horses talk. I was shocked and harrowed all over again at the cruelty though.
"There is no religion without love, and people may talk as much as they like about their religion, but if it does not teach them to be good and kind to man and beast, it is all a sham -- all a sham, James, and it won't stand when things come to be turned inside out and put down for what they are". ( )