Nelson to the Rescue by Simon Weston

Nelson to the Rescue by Simon Weston
Buy Nelson to the Rescue by Simon Weston at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Confident Readers
Reviewer: Ruth Ng
Summary: A lovely, funny story about a gentle but slightly dim shire horse.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 64	Date: October 2009
Publisher: Pont Books
ISBN: 978-1848510456
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Nelson used to pull Mike the Milk's milk float, but he has now retired. He lives in the stable at the back of the dairy along with a couple of tricky rats, Rhodri and Rhys, a pigeon who has no sense of direction, a frog who thinks he's a secret agent spy and an old racehorse who spends most of his time sleeping. Rhodri and Rhys find a mysterious message on Mike's fridge and the animals believe that Mike has been invited to Buckingham Palace to receive an MBE. Somehow our hero, Nelson, finds himself travelling down to London, pulling a ceremonial coach for Prince Charles as well as giving a TV interview about his experience.

This is a lovely book, written in nice short chapters for sharing aloud, or easy enough to read for a capable 7 year old. It's full of word play, of horses who use 'sat-nag' to get around London or the old racehorse who has his own mobile and 'hay-mail' to communicate with his cousin! I enjoyed how Nelson and his friends just casually go along to the train station to catch a train to London - it reminded me of the Paddington Bear stories with the human characters' unquestioning acceptance of these talking animals. Nelson is a likeable character, so you're keen to keep reading to see what will happen to him next.

The thing I liked most about this little book though are the illustrations by Jac Jones. The pencil drawings of Nelson through the book, and people he encounters on his adventure, are funny and full of character. They really add to the story and have a bit of a Thelwell flavour to them. I was horse-mad when I was younger and would've loved this story, and I think any young kids who like talking animals or funny, quirky little tales will enjoy having this story over and over again.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.

For another funny story about a horse try Harry Hill's Tim the Tiny Horse.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Nelson to the Rescue by Simon Weston at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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