Album of Horses (1951)

My wife's favorite book as a child - wonderful stories and illustrations. ( )

How did the Morgan horse get its name? What are the differences between a Belgian and a Clydesdale? Why are the Byerly Turk, Darley Arabian, and Godolphin Arabian so important? Find the answers to these and many other intriguing questions about horses. Each description is paired with a full color illustration.

A delightful overview of different horse breeds with gorgeous illustrations by Wesley Dennis. ( )

I never went through the horse-crazy phase, possibly because I developed acrophobia when I was eight years old. I bought Album of Horses for a gift and read it so I could catalog it here. These are the types of horses covered, in this order: Arabian, Thoroughbred, Hunter, Polo Pony, Morgan, Standardbred, American Saddle Horse, Tennessee Walking Horse, Hackney, Percheron, Belgian, Clydesdale, Shire, Suffolk Punch, Lipizzaner, Mustang, Appaloosa, Quarter Horse, Palomino, Shetland Pony, Welsh Mountain Pony, Chincoteague Pony, burro, donkey, and mule.

We get to learn the history of each breed and perhaps a story or two about members of the breed. (The stories of the Thoroughbreds who continued racing while injured made me sad.)

Each horse type gets a lovely full-page color illustration, three pages of text, and several black & white illustrations. The same is true for the two chapters at the end, 'The Routine of Happiness' and 'No, Sugar, Thank You!'.

This book originally came out in 1951, so don't expect a lot in the way of ethnic diversity or an attempt at gender equality. Except for a few Arabs in black and white, one African-American, three woman and two or three girls in color (not sure if one is a girl or boy), nine women and eight girls in black and white, one Hispanic in black and white, two Native Americans in color and eleven in black and white, we're talking white men and boys in the illustrations.

My favorite among the black and white illustrations is of a happily lounging fox licking its muzzle.

Wonderful stories of real horses are included in the brief chapters on several varieties of these animals. The illustrations are beautiful. The book is written at a level for children, but there is plenty for adults as well. Very, very enjoyable read for those who love animals. The author is obviously one of those people. She's written a flock of books about horses and other animals as well. ( )