Katy's Pony Surprise by Victoria Eveleigh

Katy's Pony Surprise by Victoria Eveleigh
Buy Katy's Pony Surprise by Victoria Eveleigh at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Confident Readers
Reviewer: Sue Magee
Summary: The final part of the Katy's Pony trilogy doesn't disappoint. Pony-mad girls will read the print off the page and even those who haven't yet discovered their love of all things equine will find a good read.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 144	Date: June 2012
Publisher: Orion Children's Books
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1444005530
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We've been with Katy Squires for a few years now. We first met her in Katy's Wild Foal when she discovered a new-born foal on snowy Exmoor. Co-incidentally it was Katy's birthday and the foal would be Trifle. It's not difficult to guess how things went in Katy's Champion Pony, but it was great to see Trifle and Katy growing and maturing together. We've now come to the final part of this lovely trilogy and it's another that's going to be loved by the pony-mad tween girl. Even if you're not keen on horses and ponies it's still going to be a good read.

One of the sad things about ponies is that children grow out of them and Katy begins to realise this when she takes Trifle to a Pony Club Camp - in fact she's told it in no uncertain terms by a very unkind instructor. There's an added problem in that Trifle is an inexperienced pony but Katy is now quite a good rider. Katy's always had a dream that she would allow Trifle to go wild and to run with the family's herd of Exmoor ponies. She felt that the time had come to give her her freedom and the release was a family event - which didn't turn out at all as she expected. That was the first surprise which Trifle had in store for Katy - but there was to be an even bigger one.

It's a real pleasure when you find an author who can write authoratitively on a subject and who can write well. Victoria Eveleigh is a particularly fortunate find. She lives on an Exmoor hill farm with a herd of Exmoor ponies and many of the stories in the book are based of events which have actually happened to the ponies in the herd. There's a real ring of truth in what you read and it's going to sing out to the young reader. There's no prettying up of what it takes to keep a pony or of how hard it can sometimes be.

Eveleigh is not just a good writer, she's got her finger on the pulse of the young rider. She understands their preoccupations and their worries - and how they develop when they're away from their equine friends. I loved the fact that Katy was slightly uneasy around her aunt's new baby and the changes in her house. But baby animals are an entirely different matter... Perfect.

Victoria Eveleigh is wise to leave her readers wanting more and not to take advantage of the deserved popularity of these books to produce more and more. They're gems and they'll be appreciated as such for a long time. I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

Follyfoot by Monica Dickens has stood the test of time. Girls who would like to have more to read when they have finished with Katy will enjoy that and the sequel Dora at Follyfoot. They'll also appreciate anything by Pippa Funnell.

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