Fritz and the Beautiful Horses

Fritz was a shaggy-maned pony who had a gentle and kind temperament, a sure and steady foot, and a hard-working disposition. Unfortunately for him, he lived outside a walled city whose citizens valued beauty and elegance in their equine companions, to the detriment of all else. Lonely for companionship, Fritz was especially attracted to human children, whom he dreamed of carrying. When the adults and children of a riding party became separated after a breaking bridge trapped the youngsters on the far side of a river, Fritz stepped in and saved the day, safely carrying the children to their parents, thereby winning the love and admiration of all...

Originally published in 1981, and then reprinted in this 2016 edition, Fritz and the show more Beautiful Horses is one of the prolific Jan Brett's earliest picture-books. Although lacking her distinctive border-work - apparently that was to come later in her artistic development - the illustrations here are beautiful, with shaggy Fritz being particularly winsome. I continue to feel, as I have done with other Brett books, that she is a stronger artist when depicting animals, than she is when depicting human figures - somehow their faces are never quite right - but the overall effect here was nevertheless quite charming. The story, moreover, is perhaps one of my favorites thus far, of all the Brett titles I have read. Fritz is such an endearing, sympathetic little pony, that the reader will root for him, and find his eventual triumph quite satisfying. Recommended to all Jan Brett fans, and to anyone looking for picture-books featuring horses and ponies. show less

I am a person who cannot draw a straight line even when using a ruler. Al the more reason why I appreciate the artistry of Jan Brett and her wonderfully illustrated books. Jan Brett is a prodigious author. Writing and illustrating is quite a natural process for her. As a small child she loved to pretend she could enter the world created in illustrated books she read. Now, as an adult, she travels to various places throughout the world and uses these special travels as a springboard for her ideas.

Fritz and the Beautiful Horses was her first illustrated book, and the ideas emanated from Salzburg, Austria.
Currently she has written more than 30 uniquely illustrated books. Each installment is eye candy, beautiful, luscious images leap from show more the pages. I always feel as though I am diving into a large pool of wonderment whenever I take the time to sit back and let the illustrations weave their magic.

I've read most of her books, and Fritz and the Beautiful Horses is my favorite. I'm drawn to this book, not only because I love carousel art, but I'm told that one of the things hardest to draw is a horse. If that is true, than Brett gets and A plus for her abilities.

In this tale, Fritz lives outside the walled in city. Inside the tall walls are lovely, beautiful horses. Decorated with intricatel trappings, Fritz stands by in awe whenever he sees the horses prance while holding a lovely lady on their back.

One day the horses must cross a body of water. Unable to do so because they are filled with fear, Fritz comes to the rescue. The moral of the story is that Fritz held inner qualities more valuable than all the gold on the stallions saddles. show less

This is a lovely book for children and a charming tale for adults as well; I bought it years before I had a child. This story tells the true secret of horses; handsome is as handsome does. Those of us who have spent many years working with horses understand the true beauty of a homely equine with intelligence, patience and a kindly heart. I now have a young daughter who I have given this book to, and it is one of her favorites. She is starting riding lessons this summer and I am shopping for ponies. When I look into their eyes the question I always ask myself is: "Is this pony a Fritz?".

In a walled city where only the most beautiful horses were kept, Fritz a sure-footed pony was made to keep out, though fritz dreamed of carrying a child he was not beautiful enough. Though in the climax of the story Fritz proves beauty is only a shallow characteristic and he becomes valued by the towns people for being kind, gentle, courageous, and sure-footed. This is one of my favorite stories growing up, and will occasionally still read it, because it helped me understand beauty is only skin-deep and there are other characteristics to obtain that are more important to ones character. I recommend this book to everyone, but specifically children ages of 4-10 years old.

Fritz is a pony who lives outside a town that only wants beautiful horses. All he wants is for children to ride him! He goes unnoticed until one day the bridge into the city breaks and the children are stuck outside. Their fancy horses won't go into the ravine to get them to safety, but Fritz will!

I enjoyed this book because I have always liked horses, but this one was especially fun. I loved the illustrations which is part of the reason I picked the book up in the first place, and I really appreciate the fact that its main point is that we should not underestimate someone who looks different than us. This book is appropriate for kindergarten through third grade.

In a city known for it's beautiful horses, Fritz is an outcast. He is not beautiful, but he is also not fussy and doesn't leap and prance when ridden. When the city's children need help crossing the river, the pretty horses are too scared and Fritz comes to the rescue.