My Review of Horse Dreams by Dandi Daley Mackall

My daughter loves everything that has to do with horses. She is a little below the recommended reading age for this series, yet she still loved the book. In my opinion, boys who like horses would enjoy it as well. The chapters are fun and interesting and not overly "girly."
Horse Dreams by Dandi Daley Mackall is part of the Backyard Horses series. Ellie James is crazy about horses. She thinks about them all the time and always imagines seeing them when she should be doing other things (like paying attention in school). Ellies is not trying to get in trouble and is a kind hearted girl, she just has an active imagination. One day, as she sits in class she sees an ugly and dirty horse run through the street. She eagerly tells her teacher and class, but because she is always imagining horses, no one believes her and she gets sent home with a note to her parents. The story plays out in a fun and creative way as we meet the rest of Ellie's family. Her parents are quirky but loving and her brother is deaf and so they communicate with him in sign language. We have taught our children sign language from an early age so that they could communicate with the deaf and so my daughter enjoyed this aspect of the book as well and we would spell many of the words and signs mentioned in the book.
Ellie has simple faith in God and tells him her feelings and desires in a precious way. I really liked how the author showed Ellie praying and having a personal relationship with God for herself. She did a wonderful job illustrating how God cares about us as individuals and cares about our desires no matter how big or small.
Although her parents are conveyed as somewhat goofy, I liked the way that the author portrayed Ellie's relationship with them. The parents included their children and made them feel valuable. For instance, Ellie's dad requests her help in finding a word for a jingle he is writing and Ellie's mom takes her with her to help her look for the horse because she knows Ellie is good with horses. Ellie has a respectful attitude towards her parents and teacher even when she is in trouble. The author did a great job showing how kids can have an enjoyable companionship with their parents and still honor and respect them.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who has children who are interested in horses. It is well written and fun to read while teaching some really good character building lessons. My daughter and I both give it 5 stars.
In my daughter's words:
"You should read this book. It teaches you good things about how to take care of horses. I liked it a lot. I was very happy about it." She wants to read the rest of the books in the series as well.
I was provided with a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for my review. I was not obligated to provide a positive review, nor was I compensated for my opinion.