Marguerite Henry's Ponies Of Chincoteague book #1 | book review | Must read!!!

      I got two books from the library about ponies. Chincoteague ponies. They were pretty good. I loved them! Made me get really interested in horses and ponies again.

     The reason I got the books is because I have good friends in Chincoteague. There was a whole row of books about Chincoteague ponies, but those looked the most interesting. 

     I read book one and two. Both were equally good. The series is based off of Misty Of Chincoteague, a book I plan to read soon. The first one is about Maddie. It's called Maddie's Dream. The second one is Blue Ribbon Summer and it's about a girl named Brooke. I read them out of order, but I would suggest reading the first one first. Of course, you don't have to, and it doesn't really matter.

     In Maddie's dream, the book starts off with Maddie, the second oldest, rushing to get to her riding lesson right after soccer. On the way to the stable, she is thinking about an event called the Snack and Swim, a group trail ride that ends in a bareback swim in a local creek and a picnic. Her dad, who's driving, asks how her team is doing, but Maddie, having been lost in her thoughts, is confused. When she answers his question, she doesn't sound very excited or enthusiastic and her dad thinks she is losing interest in soccer, as she did with judo.

     When Maddie finds that she is not signed up to ride Cloudy, her favorite Chincoteague pony, for the lesson she is confused and thinks it must be a mistake. She asks the directer about it, who tells her that she is assigned to another pony. Maddie eventually finds out that Cloudy might be sold to her old owners, who almost ruined her being that they didn't know how to handle the wild pony. 

     Maddie tries everything she can to stop her favorite pony, that she says no one can love as much as she does, from being sold. She even has the idea to buy Cloudy before her old owners can, trying to make money around her neighborhood. 

     While all of this is happening, Maddie leaves her Pony Post friends hanging, wondering if she's okay because she hasn't spoken to them since the whole thing about Cloudy being sold. Maddie is scared that her friends will ditch her if her connection to them, through Chincoteague ponies, is gone. But Nina, one of Maddie's three Pony Post friends, tells her that they want to help, and would not drop her. 

     Somewhere in the book Maddie is invited to try out for a bigger, better team than the one she's on. Maddie is happy about that, but there's a problem. I f she makes the team she might have to drop riding for a while, and with the threat of Cloudy being sold, Maddie doesn't want to give up a bit of time with her. But unfortunately, her parents are really pushing for her to try out. 

     In the end, after the Snack and Swim, Ms. Emerson, the director mentioned earlier, tells Maddie that she would not sell Cloudy and that the family who wanted to buy her decide to focus their time and funds on getting involved in skiing. Maddie convinces her parents to let her keep with riding and reject the spot on the team because riding is more important to her. In summary, everything works out after all.

     Guys, if you haven't read this book I think you should, especially if you are into horses and ponies. I loved the book and will probably, at some time, read it again. Go to www.mistyofchincoteague.org to learn more about the book Misty of Chincoteague and Marguerite Henry. The book I wrote the review on, Maddie's Dream, is by Catherine Hapka. She's an awesome writer!

As always, Thanks For Reading And Hanging Out!