Album of Horses

One of my clearest memories of reading books as a child (and I must have been about 8 years old) is flipping through Marguerite Henry's Album of Horses, looking at Wesley Dennis's gorgeous illustrations, and picking out my favorite breed of horse. I must have checked this book out of the library 20 times as a kid, so there is something satisfying about finally owning it, finally sitting down to remember and recollect -- sometimes one needs a little nostalgia. And the best thing is, the text still holds up. It's not breed stats and conformation -- instead, most of the breeds here are accompanied by a brief description and a short story, whether a vignette or the biography of its most famous (to that date -- the '50s) member -- and show more Henry's simple and pleasant writing is showcased with its usual charm. Surprisingly, I got as much pleasure from reading this at age 30 as I did at age 8. show less

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 show more 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. show less

I don't think I've seen Wesley Dennis's work in color. They're incredible and the black and white smaller pieces frame Marguerite Henry's text. The text comes in sections of three pages per breed, exotic color, and donkey and mule. A lot of the narrative for the breeds featured in another Henry book bring you back to those books, but you don't have to have had read them to understand the story and history. A few stories at the back are three paged flash fiction and not breed based.

One story that stands out to me is the one on the polo pony. The passage doesn't focus on the history of the ideal polo pony traits. It followed a teenaged boy who fell in love with the sport and found ways to ride horses and create his own polo training area. show more Who was this boy? None other than the illustrator, Wesley Dennis. Incredible. show less

Little story about this. My stepfather worked at a travel trailer lot, doing sales and repairs and such. Used trailers came in fairly often and he found some children's books in one of these. One of them was The Album of Horses. I was, I think 8 or 9 and just entering that stage girls go through where horses are the best thing ever. I spent HOURS with this book. All the horses had names. I had a huge poster with every horse breed pictured on it (and, of course, each horse had a name). I started collecting Breyer's. I read the Misty books and the Black Stallion books and cried my eyes out over Black Beauty. Living where I did and as I did, I was on horseback a total of 2 times before, and eventually I outgrew most of my passion.

To this show more day I can recall the illustrations from this book -- the Shire, the Percheron, the Arab, The Quarter Horse (Justin Morgan Had a Horse!). I lived near a Tennessee Walking Horse stable for a while and I'd compare those to the pictures I knew. I've had a little more experience with horses since then -- a friend raised Quarter horses and I would occasionally help her around the barn -- but they do not feature in my life. This book, however, is still in my collection. show less

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

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.

A 1990's reprint of a classic. Marguerite Henry writes a lively description of 22 breeds of horse (plus donkeys and mules). Her love of these magnificent animals is clear in every line. And of course, Wesley Dennis' incomparable illustrations - full-page full-color, and marginal black and white - contribute mightily to the classic reputation of this book.