Justin Morgan Had a Horse

Little Bub, Justin Morgan's horse, knows how to make a statement. From the first whinny in chapter one as a "too small" colt to the "deep snorty rumble" he obliges to President Monroe at the peak of the horse's fame, he frames the history of the first of the Morgan breed in style.

Justin Morgan Had a Horse depicts the real story of how the Morgan breed came to be. It hauls logs, pulls carriages, out races Thoroughbreds on the 1/2 mile, possesses a sweet disposition and calm manner, and packs all those characteristics into a tiny body that originally no one thought would be worth any money. Marguerite Henry consults with many historians, surviving relatives of some of her book's characters, and many history books to make her horse stories show more as authentic as possible. That and great story telling makes all of her books fascinating reads.

The narrative follows Joel Goss, initially a ten-year-old boy joining his teacher, Justin Morgan, on a peregrination to Massachusetts. Morgan has debts to repay, and he was hoping a friend that owed him had the money. Instead Morgan and Joel leave with one colt...wait, it seems the friend saw Joel eyeing the other colt, so the friend left the gait open and...two colts. Joel and Little Bub begin their story.

Morgan can't find anyone willing to buy such a small creature and had Joel gentle and train him. Joel aims to buy Little Bub one day, but in the meanwhile a novel passes. Little Bub grows in fame. He's able to do everything one can expect from a horse, and then some. Size doesn't matter. However, money does and Joel has to keep saving.

I love Henry's books for many reasons: the horses, the history, the friendliness of the people, and the bond between the main human character and the main equine character. Joel wants a life filled with love and horses, and he's willing to find a way to make that happen even though his father forces him to sign on as an apprentice to the town's inn and sawmill owner. Little Bub gets rented and owned all over, competes all over, but Joel finds a way to accompany him. I imagine those movies where bad things happen to the animals--and even though this rarely happens in Henry's books--I feel like Joel is a projection of myself, and assuring the safety of the horse everywhere he goes.

I'm amazed how long-lived Little Bub was. The book runs from around 1794 to maybe 1815--the book is vague at some points, but shows official dates at others. Little Bub was put to work almost immediately--trained over his first winter in Vermont, and logging by summer. So he couldn't have been as tiny as the earliest chapters make him sound, which was perhaps a yearling. I'm going to suppose he was born in 1791 to be barely old enough for the heavy hauling he did. He's perfectly healthy around 1815. I'd imagine 24 years is exceptional for a horse in that time period.

Little Bub, who adopted his owner's name Justin Morgan, was the little horse that could show less

Love this story. I've read it a dozen times easily - it takes me maybe an hour - but in that time, there's a lot of richness. Simple language expressing some very strong emotions and bonding between the boy and the horse, and between the boy and his various friends. I don't know how accurate the history is - I suspect the general outline is correct (a schoolmaster was given a colt in payment of a debt, the colt turned out to be both a good worker and a fast runner, possibly the part about carrying President Monroe for a few minutes); the details, especially Joel's feelings for and care of the colt may be invented. Not sure about the part where a "dark-eyed stranger" paid a lot of money for the horse and, apparently, then sold him to a show more bad master, or a series of bad masters. That seems awfully convenient, story-wise - and awfully similar to King of the Wind, also by Marguerite Henry. But true or not, it's a great story, and one that rewards rereading. show less

As a child, and as an adult too actually, I loved horse stories. Marguerite Henry writes an easy but enjoyable horse story. Her stories feel very true to the time and setting and are enjoyable to read.

”Well, the farmer didn’t want to be beholden to anyone; so he gave the singing master a fine big colt named Ebenezer. And for good measure he threw in a mite of a colt called Little Bub. And that Little Bub…” Joel paused, smiling awkwardly. “He be the one who took on the schoolmaster’s name, Justin Morgan.”

This is a darling children’s book about the horse line called the Morgan Horse. The book starts in the late 1700s, telling the story of the earliest traceable horse in the line. When a schoolmaster takes a student with him on a trip to the Green Mountains to visit Farmer Beane in Springfield to get some money which was owed him, the story of the Morgan horse is born. Instead of his money, Justin Morgan receives two show more colts – Ebenezer and Little Bub. Joel Goss, the student who comes along for the adventure, loves Little Bub from the very beginning. The beauty of the book is the love story between boy and horse throughout the years.

There is quite an interesting list of books consulted listed in the back, along with descendants of the book’s subjects. The illustrations by Wesley Dennis were a beautiful addition to the story. show less

This fictionalized account of the first Morgan horse is a bit old fashioned but it's still a decent enough tale. None of the characters are very deeply developed. Even the protagonist, Joel Goss, isn't a full personality. Towards the end, the story sidelines for 40 or 50 pages to tell about the War of 1812, including some bits about military tactics. This whole section is irrelevant to the story of the horse, so it feels out of place and unnecessary. And I must complain about the last sentence of the book. Probably in 1954, when originally published, the closing line seemed brilliantly patriotic, but today it just seems self righteously trite and contrived.

In 1791 a Vermont schoolmaster by the name of Justin Morgan comes home with a two-year-old colt named Little Bub. Taken as payment for an outstanding debt, the little colt doesn't seem like he is worth much, but the kindly teacher asks one of his students, Joel Goss, to train him. Joel knows the horse has great potential, and soon word about Little Bub spreads throughout the entire Northeast for his ability to outwork, outrun, outtrot, and outwalk any horse in the area.
This is the extraordinary tale of a little workhorse, who, after being born in obscurity, becomes one of the greatest breeding stallions of all time. In this true story Newbery Medal-winning author Marguerite Henry and artist Wesley Dennis celebrate the life of the only show more horse ever to establish a breed all by himself -- the Morgan. show less

I absolutely adored every horse book by Henry when I was young girl. Upon re-reading, decades later, I find that they're entirely worthy of my fond memories. I learn so much history, and so much about horses, and loyalty, and honor, and courage, from her stories. And Dennis's art is lovely and also educational. I think my very favorite will always be [b:King of the Wind: The Story of the Godolphin Arabian|423156|King of the Wind The Story of the Godolphin Arabian|Marguerite Henry|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1329982839s/423156.jpg|2236675] but they're all classics that can appeal to new readers every generation.